One of the White House’s more unusual boasts is that Donald Trump is “the most transparent president in history.” It’d be easier to take the claim seriously if the public had gained access to Trump’s tax returns, the Jeffrey Epstein files, the rationale behind the president’s recent MRI and the video of border czar Tom Homan allegedly accepting a bag full of cash from undercover FBI agents (to name just a few things). But to date, these have all remained under wraps.
This list is still growing: This week, Trump argued that former special counsel Jack Smith’s final report in the classified documents case should never be made public.
A Politico report noted that previous special counsels have written reports that were provided to Congress and made public, “even when they have included damaging findings about the incumbent administration.” But in the classified documents case, which led to 37 felony counts related to Trump’s alleged mishandling and withholding of sensitive records, there’s been no such disclosure.
To be sure, Smith and his team submitted their findings earlier this year, but the president and his lawyers want to keep it hidden indefinitely.
This effort might very well work out for Trump, since his legal team made its appeal to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump-appointed jurist who has earned an unfortunate reputation as a relentlessly biased conservative.
But if Cannon once again tells Trump what he wants to hear, there may very well be consequences beyond the Republican’s bid for secrecy about one of his most embarrassing scandals. The Politico report added:
Trump’s effort could complicate efforts by congressional Republicans to grill Smith about the substance of his investigation. Cannon’s order bars the Justice Department from disseminating the results of its investigation to outsiders, including Congress. While Smith’s final classified documents report remains under seal, he may not have authority to discuss its findings with lawmakers.
In October, House Republicans announced plans to bring Smith to Capitol Hill to answer lawmakers’ questions. The former special counsel replied that he’d welcome that opportunity, but only if the public were allowed to watch the proceedings.
If the prosecutor’s findings are kept hidden by a federal court, however, there may be very little to talk about at a congressional hearing. Watch this space.
