I have a column up on the homepage about the plan by Biden-Harris Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith to issue a two-volume final report on the Mar-a-Lago documents case — a prosecution that needs no report because it has been extensively indicted and litigated over the past two-plus years. There is no legal reason for such a report. It’s lawfare: a politicized effort to use special counsel regs as a pretext to sully President-elect Trump before he takes office in 13 days, in connection with a case that has been dismissed on the ground that Smith’s special-counsel appointment was unconstitutional — a dismissal ruling as to which the Justice Department dropped its appeal as to Trump.

Earlier today, Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida temporarily blocked the DOJ and Smith from publicly releasing Smith’s report pending further instruction from the Eleventh Circuit. Although the DOJ abandoned its appeal of Judge Cannon’s dismissal order as to Trump, Attorney General Merrick Garland has maintained the appeal as to Trump’s two co-defendants, Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira.

Cannon’s concern is that, if the Eleventh Circuit were to reverse her ruling (which seems impossible, since once Trump takes office, the DOJ’s appeal will surely be dropped), the publication of Smith’s report would obviously undermine the fair-trial rights of Nauta and De Oliveira. That said, as I wrote in the column, I don’t see how Judge Cannon has jurisdiction to act since the case is now before the Eleventh Circuit. I imagine the judge would say she is merely freezing the situation in place to give the circuit a chance to consider the controversy over the report.

Whether that is appropriate or not, I anticipate, will be a moot question. Nauta and De Oliveira also made an emergency motion in the circuit to block publication of the report. Presumably, we’ll hear something from the circuit itself.