Washington – The Justice Department on Wednesday asked a federal appeals court in Atlanta to clear the way for the release of a portion of special counsel Jack Smith’s report detailing his investigation into President-elect Donald Trump.

In court documents filed with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, the government wrote that Attorney General Merrick Garland had decided not to release the volume of Smith’s report dealing with the classified documents case pending criminal proceedings against co-defendant Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira are still pending.

However, Garland plans to provide Congress and the public with the first volume of Smith’s report, which relates to his investigation and prosecution of Trump in connection with the 2020 presidential election.

“Because the Attorney General has decided not to make volume two of the final report available to the public while defendant’s case is pending – the volume relating to the defendant’s case – a preliminary injunction is unnecessary,” prosecutors wrote, urging the 11th Circuit to deny the emergency motion for a preliminary injunction.

They noted that Smith sent his report to Garland on Tuesday and wrote in a cover letter to the attorney general that the portion concerning Nauta and de Oliveira should not be made available to the public while their cases are pending.

Justice Department lawyers said a redacted version of the second volume of the report – which discussed the alleged misuse of classified documents – would only be available for review by top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary committees, at their request and when possible provided agree not to publish the information publicly.

“This limited disclosure will further the public interest in keeping congressional leadership informed about an important matter within the Department while protecting the interests of the defendants,” prosecutors wrote.

The filing came in response to an attempt by Trump’s former co-defendants, aide Nauta and former Mar-a-Lago employee de Oliveria, to block the report’s release. They argued their cases would be harmed by the release of the special counsel’s report because their cases remain under appeal.

Defense attorneys earlier this week simultaneously asked the appeals court and Judge Aileen Cannon, who oversaw and dismissed the Trump classifieds case, to block Smith and Garland from publicly releasing a summary of the special counsel’s findings. Cannon issued an order Tuesday temporary assignment to the Ministry of Justice from the release of the report to the 11th Circuit decision.

The ongoing litigation is part of an attempt by Trump and his allies to prevent federal prosecutors from releasing the contents of Smith’s report. Smith announced that he has prepared a two-volume report to be submitted to the attorney general. Garland has pledged to make all special counsel reports prepared during his time in office available to the public and has so far kept that promise, including after an investigation related to President Biden’s handling of classified documents.

Smith led two now-closed investigations into the president-elect, one of them associated with his alleged efforts to oppose the peaceful transfer of power and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and another election based on Trump’s allegations unlawfully withholding sensitive government records after leaving office in 2021. The investigation led to criminal charges against Trump, which have since then been fired. Trump initially pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.

Trump’s lawyers called on Garland to remove Smith from office and make a stop to release the report, according to a letter included in court documents on Monday.

“Because Smith has proposed an unlawful course of action, you must revoke his plan and remove him immediately. If Smith is not removed, handling of his report should be left to President Trump’s new attorney general, consistent with the express wishes of the “people,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.

In the secret documents case, Trump was indicted along with Nauta and de Oliveira over an alleged plot to obstruct the federal investigation. Both men pleaded not guilty.

Smith ultimately dropped his attempts to prosecute Trump, citing Justice Department rules that prohibit criminal prosecution of a sitting president. However, he chose to continue to appeal Cannon’s decision dismiss the case against Nauta and de Oliveira to set aside the finding that the special prosecutor was unlawfully appointed.

The defendants therefore tried to stop the release as the proceedings progressed.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Trump called Smith a “villain” and praised Cannon, whom he appointed to the federal bench in his first term, as a “brilliant judge.”