A lawyer has filed a lawsuit against the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to force the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s reports on the federal criminal investigations into President-elect Donald Trump.
Attorney Devin Stone, better known as the YouTuber LegalEagle, is suing the agencies after they rejected his Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, he said. Stone previously sought a court order to make public Smith’s findings surrounding Trump’s alleged criminal attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and his handling of classified documents.
Smith reportedly intends to resign before Trump returns to the White House on January 20. The prosecutor is expected to draft a final report summarizing his decision to charge Trump in the classified documents and 2020 election obstruction cases, in accordance with federal policy regarding special counsels, according to The New York Timesand NBC News.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Stone said it is vital that the reports be made public before Trump takes office and his allies assume key federal positions. Pam Bondi, former Florida attorney general, is set to lead the DOJ next year, with Trump loyalist Kash Patel tapped to replace outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray.
“There’s already an effort underway to rewrite history and deny reality,” Stone said. “That’s why it’s incredibly important to act now to capture the complete record of the federal prosecutions before the records are destroyed, altered, or God knows what the new administration will do with them.”
Smith moved to dismiss both federal criminal investigations following Trump’s 2024 election victory. The DOJ has a long-standing policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents. Trump denied all federal charges against him.
Newsweek has contacted Stone, the FBI and Trump’s legal team for comment via email outside of regular working hours. A spokesperson for Smith and the DOJ declined to comment.
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig reported on November 26 that Smith hopes to submit his report before January 20. The decision on whether the report will be made public will be made Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Stone’s lawsuit argues that his previous FOIA lawsuit demanding Smith’s findings be released was wrongly rejected because his YouTube channel was not considered news media.
The suit says that the Legal Eagle YouTube channel, which has nearly 3.5 million subscribers, has a legal right under FOIA to have its request fully processed and to be classified as a representative of the news media.
“The American people have a right to access these documents as granted by FOIA, and we believe that the DOJ and FBI are not honoring their legal obligations,” Stone said.
Stone also said releasing the reports would answer several questions surrounding the federal investigations into Trump.
These include the identities of the uncharged co-conspirators mentioned in the federal 2020 election indictment, and how the Supreme Court’s immunity decision impacted the DOJ’s strategy.
Stone added that success in his lawsuit could clarify whether more individuals accessed or moved the classified documents at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, or if there is evidence that Trump retained sensitive materials at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey.
“I don’t think we’re trying to get something from them that Smith doesn’t want to release,” Stone said.
“We’re trying to help Smith finish the job he started in the least awful way possible, and we specifically said we’d wait until he was done with his report, so we’re not even rushing him.”
It is unclear how much new information the reports will contain, given that much of Smith’s evidence against Trump has already been disclosed in court filings.
Smith indicted Trump for alleged election fraud in attempting to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, as well as for the alleged hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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