'Another layer of suppression': First Amendment groups ask appeals court to fast-track their long-delayed appeal of Judge Cannon's order burying Mar-a-Lago report on Trump

Public advocacy groups are urging a national tribunal of appeals to fast-track their bid to unseal the second measurement of erstwhile peculiar counsel Jack Smith's last study connected his transgression investigations into President Donald Trump.

Late last year, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump during his archetypal term, issued 2 orders related to the long-delayed but still-lingering quality implicit the 2nd volume.

In the first order, Cannon flatly denied efforts to intervene lodged by the Knight First Amendment Institute astatine Columbia University and transparency-focused nonprofit American Oversight. In her second order, however, Cannon acknowledged "any erstwhile oregon existent enactment to this action" whitethorn determination "for permission to intervene, if warranted, and/or from timely seeking due alleviation earlier that deadline."

In the intervening months, galore parties person had a batch to accidental astir Cannon's efforts. While Trump and the U.S. Department of Justice weighed successful to commend the judge straight for keeping the study under seal, the 45th and 47th president's erstwhile co-defendants told Cannon "all copies" of the 2nd measurement should simply beryllium destroyed.

The groups, undeterred and incapable to record connected the archetypal docket, went directly to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and requested mandamus alleviation to enactment proceedings astatine the territory tribunal pending the solution of their 2 abstracted appeals filed past year.

On Feb. 23, Cannon aimed to kibosh the process, permanently blocking the existent DOJ and immoderate consequent administrations from releasing the 2nd measurement – but stopping abbreviated of destroying it. That aforesaid day, Cannon denied different question to intervene filed by the Knight Institute and American Oversight without comment.

At this signifier successful the overarching controversy, determination are assorted motions successful assorted associated cases, though not each are competing. Specifically, determination are 2 11th Circuit cases: successful one case, the nationalist advocacy groups are the petitioners and the authorities is the respondent; successful the different case, the parties are precisely reversed.

On March 5, the groups asked the 11th Circuit to consolidate the disparate appeals "because they originate from the aforesaid underlying proceeding" successful the sanction of "judicial economy" and the parties' interests and due to the fact that they "present the aforesaid halfway ineligible questions."

Here's however the groups privation to inquire those questions:

(1) whether the territory tribunal erred successful holding that Appellants deficiency lasting to question rescission of the territory tribunal injunctions preventing Appellants from vindicating their statutory rights nether FOIA; (2) whether those injunctions should beryllium vacated; (3) whether the territory tribunal erred successful holding that the Knight Institute lacks lasting to intervene to asseverate the communal instrumentality and First Amendment close of entree to Volume II; and (4) whether the territory tribunal erred successful holding that the Knight Institute does not person a First Amendment oregon communal instrumentality close of entree to Volume II.

But March was 2 months agone – and since then, precise small has happened. Or, rather, each that has happened is simply a slowdown.

"In the astir 8 weeks since, nary further filings person been made successful either appeal," the latest question reads. "Under [an] Eleventh Circuit Rule…the filing of the question to consolidate aft Appellants filed their opening briefs successful [one case] automatically postponed the owed day for Appellees' effect briefs 'until the tribunal rules connected specified motion.'"

In different words, the question to consolidate slowed down the docket successful the older case, resetting respective upcoming deadlines.

From the caller motion, astatine length:

The effect is that the entreaty this Court ordered expedited connected January 30, 2026 has not precocious for astir 2 months, and the 2nd appeal—which raises the aforesaid halfway ineligible questions—has not gotten disconnected the crushed astatine all. Each further week the question to consolidate remains pending pushes oral statement further into the aboriginal and prolongs the suppression of Volume II. The rights of timely entree connected which these appeals crook needfully encompass the close of timely adjudication of entree claims…

Now, the groups privation the 11th Circuit to velocity things along.

On 1 hand, of course, the question to consolidate was the plaintiffs' prime and they mightiness person to unrecorded with the resulting gait of litigation aft asking the tribunal to rotation the cases together. But, anticipating that enactment of argument, the groups accidental Cannon's bid to hide the 2nd measurement necessitated their 2nd appeal. And, logically, the groups say, the 2 appeals needed to beryllium considered successful 1 fell swoop.

"The ineligible questions stay the same; the factual grounds remains uncomplicated; and the public's involvement successful punctual entree to Volume II has, if anything, intensified since January, with the territory court's February 23 introduction of a imperishable injunction adding different furniture of suppression that Appellants present question to challenge," the caller question argues.

And, the groups constituent out, the 11th Circuit already antecedently granted a question to expedite successful the earlier case, successful January. The caller question sees the imaginable of a 2nd wound astatine the fast-action pome arsenic pro forma successful airy of the proceedings since Cannon's latest order.

"The grounds the Court credited successful granting expedition successful January 2026 use with adjacent oregon greater unit now," the question goes on. "The request for expedition does not diminish simply due to the fact that a procedural prerequisite—consolidation—remains to beryllium resolved. To the contrary: it is the lack of a ruling connected consolidation that is present lasting successful the mode of the expedited disposition this Court already ordered."

The groups further reason that a deficiency of "prompt adjudication" successful the lawsuit "undermines the payment of nationalist scrutiny and whitethorn person the aforesaid effect arsenic implicit suppression." The question says the "extraordinary value to the nationalist of the grounds being suppressed here" supports an expedited schedule.

To that end, the groups suggest a briefing docket based connected a would-be bid granting expedition, giving the parties "approximately 7 weeks" to execute motions signifier earlier the 11th Circuit.

"Although the contiguous hold is of a antithetic character, the cumulative effect connected Appellants and the nationalist is the same," the caller question goes on. "Appellants' archetypal motions to intervene were filed successful February 2025. More than fourteen months later, Appellants person yet to get merits reappraisal of immoderate of their entree claims."