Jack Smith led a witch hunt to put Donald Trump in prison.
He had one last chance to deal political damage to the President.
But a judge buried Jack Smith with one ruling that destroyed his legacy.
Judge Cannon Permanently Blocks Jack Smith's Classified Documents Report
A federal judge just used one word to describe Jack Smith's entire investigation: “unlawful.”
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon permanently blocked the release of Smith's report on his classified documents case against Donald Trump
She ruled that Smith operated "without lawful authority" – the same finding that killed the underlying case in July 2024.
Her order is airtight.
The Justice Department is now banned from "releasing, distributing, conveying, or sharing with anyone outside the Department of Justice any information or conclusions in Volume II or in drafts thereof."
Nobody outside the Justice Department ever reads a word of it.
Cannon ruled that releasing the report would cause "irreparable damage" to Trump, Walt Nauta, and Carlos De Oliveira – the two Mar-a-Lago employees Smith dragged into his investigation – and called the whole thing a "manifest injustice."
Manifest in the legal sense means obvious and undeniable.
Cannon isn't saying Smith made procedural errors. She said what he did to these people was plainly, visibly unjust – and she's making sure the country never has to read his bogus conclusions.
Here's what makes the ruling even more damning.
Cannon dismissed the classified documents case in July 2024. Smith's office was done – legally, constitutionally, completely.
But Smith kept going anyway. He compiled his report and submitted it to Merrick Garland after the case was already closed, after Cannon had already ruled his appointment unconstitutional, after there was no longer any legal proceeding for him to be part of.
Democrats hoped that report would get released before the 2024 Election to damage Trump.
Cannon called that a "brazen stratagem" – Smith defying her dismissal order to get his conclusions into the public record through the back door.
It didn't work. Volume II never saw daylight. And her order makes sure it never will.
Brandon Gill Asked Smith One Question That Proved He Was Unlawfully Appointed
Last month, Smith sat before Republican Congressman Brandon Gill for congressional testimony and got asked one of the simplest questions imaginable.
Did Jack Smith take an oath of office?
Smith couldn't recall.
The prosecutor who spent years building a case that Trump was a threat to the Constitution couldn't remember whether he ever swore to uphold that same Constitution himself.
Gill destroyed him with it.
The Constitution's Appointments Clause requires officers of the United States to be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
Smith was appointed by Merrick Garland with no Senate confirmation and no presidential nomination. He was never a lawfully appointed officer.
Garland created an office that didn't exist, staffed it with a man who never took an oath, handed him unlimited prosecutorial power, and pointed him at a presidential candidate.
His entire investigation was built on sand.
How the Lawfare Campaign Against Trump Finally Ended
Two years ago, Democrats were certain they had Trump surrounded.
Fani Willis had the Georgia indictment. Alvin Bragg had Manhattan. Smith had two separate federal cases running simultaneously.
Every single one collapsed.
Willis's case imploded under the weight of her own ethical violations. The New York hush money conviction went nowhere.
Smith's election interference case died when DOJ policy blocked prosecuting a sitting president after Trump won. The classified documents case was already dead – killed by Cannon's July 2024 ruling before Trump even returned to the Oval Office.
Volume I of Smith's report – the election interference piece – was released in January 2025 before Trump took office. Democrats read it, celebrated it, and waited for Volume II to finish the job.
Volume II never came.
What the left wanted was one final chance to smear Trump on the way out – front-page headlines, "Smith Report Exposes Trump," graphics ready and talking points written.
Instead they're waking up to a federal court order that seals Smith's work inside the Justice Department permanently.
Cannon looked at everything Jack Smith built and ruled it was a manifest injustice to let any of it see the light of day.
The man who forgot his oath got exactly what he deserved.
Sources:
- Bob Hoge, "Fresh Humiliation for Jack Smith As Judge Kills Final Classified Docs Report," RedState, February 23, 2026.
- "Judge Cannon Dismisses Trump Documents Case, Says Special Counsel Smith Was Unlawfully Appointed," Fox News, July 15, 2024.
- "DOJ Drops Jack Smith Cases Against Trump Following Election Victory," Fox News, November 2024.
- "Brandon Gill Trounces Jack Smith and Leaves Him in the Dust During Epic Grilling," RedState, January 2026.
