US judge permanently blocks release of report on Trump documents case

The case accuses Trump of illegally storing US national defence documents at a resort

US President Donald Trump attends a press briefing at the White House, following the Supreme Court's ruling that Trump had exceeded his authority when he imposed tariffs, in Washington, DC, US, Feb 20, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

A US judge on Monday permanently barred the Justice Department from releasing a prosecutor's report on the criminal case accusing President Donald Trump of unlawfully retaining classified documents following his first term in office.

US District Judge Aileen Cannon found that release of the report would be a "manifest injustice" to Trump and two former associates who were charged alongside him because it would detail substantial allegations of criminal wrongdoing in a case that was dismissed and never reached a jury.

The order means substantial information about one of the four criminal cases Trump faced in his years out of office may not be disclosed to the public. Trump was accused of illegally storing documents related to US national defence at his Mar-a-Lago social club and obstructing US government efforts to retrieve the material.

Trump and his two co-defendants, personal aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago manager Carlos de Oliveira, pleaded not guilty to all charges. They urged Cannon to bar the release of the report from Special Counsel Jack Smith detailing his justification for the charges.