Cannon permanently seals Jack Smith's Mar-a-Lago report, citing unlawful appointment

Judge Cannon's Feb. 23 order is permanent — not temporary. It bars the DOJ from releasing Volume 2 indefinitely and explicitly binds all future attorneys general, not just Pam Bondi. The only way the report can now be released is if a higher court overturns Cannon's order.

Cannon's legal justification rested on her own controversial 2024 ruling that Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed — a decision the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals had issued a mandamus order criticizing as involving undue delay. She wrote that since Smith lacked lawful authority, the defendants never faced a valid prosecution and therefore retain the presumption of innocence.

No other former special counsel has had a final report permanently sealed before. Previous special counsel reports — including Robert Hur's report on Biden's handling of classified documents — were released after investigations ended. Cannon's own written reasoning acknowledges that prior special counsels released reports, but she argued none had done so after filing charges that didn't result in a conviction.

Volume 2 is believed to contain the results of Kash Patel's immunized grand jury testimony. Patel had invoked the Fifth Amendment when investigators first sought his cooperation. Prosecutors granted him immunity in 2022, compelling his testimony.

Patel, now the FBI director, publicly claimed Trump had declassified all Mar-a-Lago documents before leaving office — a claim Trump's own national security officials disputed. Senators never saw what Patel said under oath before confirming him.

Co-defendant Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira — Trump's valet and a Mar-a-Lago property manager — had separately asked Cannon to order the report physically destroyed. Cannon declined to destroy the report but granted the permanent seal, effectively achieving the same outcome for public access.

Two government watchdog groups, American Oversight and the Knight Institute at Columbia University, had filed motions seeking to force the report's release through the 11th Circuit. Cannon denied their request for a stay pending appeal on Feb. 23 as well, meaning the report remains fully sealed even while they appeal. Chioma Chukwu, American Oversight's executive director, called the ruling a pattern of decisions that shield the president from public scrutiny.

Attorney General Pam Bondi had already agreed with Trump that Volume 2 should not be released, stating in a court filing in March 2025 that under no circumstances should the court order the release of Volume 2. That position was unusual: it meant Trump's own Justice Department was actively helping him suppress a prosecutorial report about his own conduct.

Volume 1 of Smith's report — covering the January 6 investigation — was released publicly after the 11th Circuit blocked Nauta and De Oliveira's attempt to suppress it. Volume 2 was filed at the same time but kept under seal by Cannon's January 2025 order. The two volumes have had completely different legal trajectories despite being part of the same final report.