Overview
- American Oversight and the Knight First Amendment Institute have filed reply briefs in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit asking the court to lift Judge Aileen Cannon’s permanent injunction that bars public release of former special counsel Jack Smith’s Volume II report.
- The groups rely in part on a recent D.C. Circuit 2-1 decision that cleared the way for release of nearly 70 hours of Joe Biden’s interviews, arguing that the Justice Department’s reversal on those tapes undercuts any claim that the public’s right of access has been overcome.
- Judge Cannon made the injunction permanent in February 2026, citing grand-jury secrecy, attorney-client protections, and concerns that releasing the report would violate “basic notions of fairness and justice” because the named co-defendants were never convicted.
- The current DOJ, President Trump’s legal team, the named co-defendants, and allies such as America First Legal continue to oppose disclosure, while a separate indictment accuses former DOJ prosecutor Carmen Lineberger of saving and emailing a copy of the report and she has pleaded not guilty.
- A ruling by the 11th Circuit could set a broader precedent about when courts must weigh FOIA-style public access against grand-jury secrecy and fairness to uncharged or unconvicted subjects, and it may prompt further appeals depending on how the panel treats the D.C. Circuit’s reasoning.