FORT PIERCE, Fla.–The minority members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee today filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in support of the Knight First Amendment Institute’s motion seeking release of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report about Trump’s mishandling of classified information at Mar-a-Lago. The Republican-led committee has subpoenaed Smith for a closed-door interview on December 17 as part of its investigations into his work. 

The following can be attributed to Scott Wilkens, senior counsel at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University: 

“We’re pleased that members of the House Judiciary Committee recognize the importance of making the Special Counsel’s report public. The release of the report will shed light on the scope and integrity of the Special Counsel’s investigation and on the character and actions of the nation’s highest official. Judge Cannon should release the report without further delay.”

In February, the Knight Institute filed a motion to intervene in the case asking Judge Aileen Cannon—who presided over the now-abandoned prosecution of President Trump under the Espionage Act—to release volume II of the Special Counsel’s report, arguing that it should be made public under the First Amendment and common law right of access to judicial records. The Institute also asked the court to lift an injunction prohibiting the Department of Justice from releasing the report. In September, the Institute asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to compel Judge Cannon to rule on its motion to intervene, which had been pending for more than six months. On November 3, the appeals court found that the lower court had unduly delayed its ruling on the motion and said that it would hold the Knight Institute’s petition for 60 days with the expectation that Judge Cannon would issue a ruling within that time frame. That period will expire on January 2, 2026. 

Read today’s brief here.

Read more about the case here.

For more information, contact: Adriana Lamirande, [email protected].