Press Releases

Washington, D.C. (January 16, 2025)— Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Daniel Goldman led Committee Democrats in a letter urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to release Volume 2 of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on President-elect Donald Trump’s refusal to return classified documents after he left office. The letter comes on the heels of the public release of Volume 1 of Special Counsel Smith’s report on Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and seize the presidency, which resulted in the January 6, 2021, insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.

“It is in the very nature of American democracy that the people have a right to know of the public actions of their public officials, and it is essential to the rule of law that Justice Department special counsel reports continue to be available and accessible to the public.  As Attorney General, it is incumbent upon you to take all necessary steps to ensure the report is released before the end of your tenure, including, if necessary, by simply dismissing the remaining criminal charges against Mr. Trump’s co-conspirators, Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira,” wrote the Members.

Volume 2 of the Special Counsel’s report outlines the evidence supporting the 40 felony counts against Trump for knowingly retaining hundreds of presidential and highly classified records at his Mar-a-Lago club and then deliberately defying subpoenas, obstructing law enforcement, hiding evidence, and lying about his continuing retention of these records. 
 
Volume 2 is currently being withheld from the public and members of Congress due to the pending cases against Trump co-conspirators Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. To the extent that the charges against the co-conspirators are impeding the Department’s imperative of transparency and truth, the Members asked Attorney General Garland to dismiss the remaining criminal charges, which are “tangential” to the central crimes, so the American people can read the facts for themselves.

Trump has made clear that he does not want the Special Counsel’s report to see the light of day and has repeatedly sought to prevent its public disclosure, including by filing a motion to prevent the report’s release earlier this week.

With Trump set to take leadership of the country and its vast national security apparatus on January 20, it is of urgent importance that the American people and Congress understand how and why Trump recklessly mishandled the nation’s most sensitive classified information.
 
If Attorney General Garland does not release the report before January 20, it will almost certainly remain concealed from the public for at least four more years, severely compromising the public interest and perhaps national security.
 
Click here to read the letter.