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Public interest groups have asked a federal appeals court to accelerate review of their effort to unseal the second volume of special counsel Jack Smith’s final report into former President Donald Trump — a fight that could decide whether key investigative findings become public. The dispute has widened into parallel appeals and procedural delays that, the groups say, are effectively keeping a federal record off limits to citizens and the press.
Late last year, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon issued two rulings that shaped the current fight: she rejected initial attempts by transparency advocates to intervene, yet left the door open for later motions from “any former or current party.” That mixed message has produced a cascade of filings and counter-filings, pushing the question up to the 11th Circuit.
Advocacy organizations — notably the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia and American Oversight — then went directly to the appeals court, asking for mandamus relief to pause lower-court activity while two separate appeals move forward. Their petition followed a February 23 order from Judge Cannon that barred the current Justice Department and future administrations from releasing the second volume but did not require its destruction. On the same day she again denied an intervention motion from the public-interest groups.
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The procedural picture is fragmented: two distinct appeals are pending in the 11th Circuit, one with the advocacy groups as petitioners and the government as respondent, and the other with the roles reversed. On March 5, the groups asked the appeals court to consolidate those cases, arguing the disputes arise from the same underlying proceeding and raise identical legal issues.
Their consolidation request, however, has had an unintended consequence: under circuit rules, filing the motion after opening briefs were filed in one appeal automatically pauses appellees’ response deadlines until the court resolves consolidation. As a result, the appeal that the appeals court had earlier ordered expedited on January 30, 2026, has not advanced for weeks, and the second appeal has barely started.
The groups asked the court to move faster, stressing that continued delay effectively prolongs suppression of material they say the public has a right to see. They contend the consolidation motion is the key procedural roadblock and urged an expedited briefing schedule that would allow oral argument sooner.
What the appeals seek to settle
The public advocates frame the controversy around a handful of narrow legal questions that would determine whether Volume II should be unsealed and who has the right to push for its release. In simplified form, they ask the appeals court to decide:
- Whether the district court was correct to find the petitioners lacked standing to challenge injunctions that block enforcement of their statutory rights under FOIA.
- Whether those injunctions should be vacated so petitioners can pursue records requests or other relief.
- Whether the Knight Institute may intervene to press a common-law and First Amendment right of public access to Volume II.
- Whether, as a matter of law, the Knight Institute possesses a First Amendment or common-law right of access to the sealed volume.
Rather than rehearse the parties’ every argument, the groups emphasize a simple premise: the legal questions overlap, the factual record is confined, and delaying resolution only deepens the public’s inability to scrutinize the material at issue.
Practically, the delay stems from timing. The consolidation motion was filed after the opening briefs in one appeal, invoking a rule that freezes response deadlines until the court rules on the consolidation request. The plaintiffs say that pause has stretched out for nearly two months with no new filings in either appeal, hampering the expedition the appeals court itself ordered in late January.
The groups propose a compact briefing timetable — roughly seven weeks for briefing and motions practice on an expedited track — arguing that such a schedule is consistent with the urgency the court acknowledged earlier this year. They also warn that a drawn-out process risks turning temporary suppression into de facto suppression: if the record is never promptly adjudicated, public access may never materialize.
Why this matters now
At stake is more than a sealed stack of pages: the case tests how FOIA and public-access rights operate when release conflicts with prosecutorial or executive concerns. A ruling in favor of the advocacy groups could open a significant federal record to public and press scrutiny; a ruling for the government could reinforce wide-ranging discretion to keep such material under wraps.
Timing also matters politically and legally. The intervention motions at issue were first filed in February 2025; the groups note that more than fourteen months later they have yet to secure a merits review of their claims. That extended timeline, they argue, undermines timely oversight and accountability.
- Possible court actions: the 11th Circuit could grant consolidation and accelerate briefing; deny consolidation and proceed separately; or decline to expedite, leaving the lower-court injunctions intact for the foreseeable future.
- Immediate consequence: continued delay keeps Volume II sealed and limits public scrutiny of Smith’s findings.
- Broader implications: the decision will shape how easily third parties can use FOIA and First Amendment interventions to access high-profile federal records in future disputes.
The appeals court now faces a procedural choice that will determine how quickly — if at all — the public gains access to a document central to ongoing debates over federal investigations and executive accountability. A ruling on consolidation or on expedition would likely set the next timetable; without one, the matter could remain stalled for weeks or months more.
