Appeals court delays hearing on release of Jack Smith’s Trump documents report

A federal appeals court has postponed a November 2 hearing on whether the unreleased portion of former special counsel Jack Smith’s report about President Donald Trump’s classified-documents case can be made public.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit granted the postponement request in part and said it would schedule oral argument at a time convenient to the three-judge panel and the lawyers. The brief order did not set a replacement date or decide whether the report should be released.

Why the hearing was postponed

Trump and his former co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, asked the court on October 5 to move the argument to January 2027 or later. Trump’s lawyer said the president’s campaign travel and other commitments before the November 3 midterm election would leave too little time for counsel to confer with him and prepare for the hearing.

The motion also cited separate conflicts for the other defendants’ lawyers. Nauta’s attorney said he expected to be in a multiweek criminal trial, while De Oliveira’s attorney said he had nonrefundable travel scheduled through November 2. The Justice Department did not oppose the delay. The Knight First Amendment Institute and American Oversight, the groups seeking access to the report, opposed it.

The court’s order did not say which arguments persuaded it. Its decision to grant the request only in part is narrower than the defendants’ proposal: the court removed the November 2 argument but did not promise that the new hearing would be in or after January.

What remains under seal

Smith prepared two volumes after completing his federal investigations of Trump. The volume concerning Trump’s alleged effort to overturn the 2020 election was released in January 2025. The second volume concerns the classified-documents prosecution and remains unavailable to the public.

Smith alleged that Trump unlawfully retained national-defense information after leaving office and obstructed efforts to recover documents kept at Mar-a-Lago. Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the prosecution before trial in July 2024, ruling that Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional. Because the case never went to trial, the criminal allegations were not adjudicated by a jury.

Cannon later barred the Justice Department from releasing the classified-documents volume. Knight and American Oversight are appealing rulings that prevented them from intervening and obtaining access. Their appellate briefs argue that the report is covered by public-access rights; Trump and the other former defendants oppose disclosure.

What the order does — and does not do

The scheduling order gives Trump and the other defendants more time, but it is not a ruling on the merits of the access dispute. It does not authorize publication of the report, uphold Cannon’s injunctions or establish that the report will remain sealed permanently.

The practical result is another period of uncertainty. Until the 11th Circuit assigns a new date, the parties do not know when they will argue the case. A merits decision would come only after that hearing or a later court order, and any appellate ruling could face a request for further review.

The development is significant because the unreleased volume is the final official account from Smith’s documents investigation. For now, however, the only new action is procedural: the November 2 hearing is off the calendar, and the court has left both the next argument date and the report’s fate unresolved.

Sources and image credit

Primary records: the 11th Circuit’s continuance order, the defendants’ October 5 motion and the appellate docket. Independent reporting: MS NOW.

Image: Warren LeMay, Elbert P. Tuttle U.S. Court of Appeals Building in Atlanta, dedicated under CC0 1.0. Cropped to 16:9.