Expert notes 'intriguing' details in Jack Smith report that will likely 'never see light'

A former federal prosecutor appeared amused after Trump-appointed judge Aileen Cannon questioned why there was a rush to push out special counsel Jack Smith's report in his classified documents case, and lamented what information within may never see the light of day.

Elie Honig, a former New York prosecutor, joined CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Friday night on "The Source" to discuss Cannon's remark, which she made earlier in the day.

Cannon signaled she would "not allow the release of Smith's report on Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents.

In June 2023, Trump was indicted on 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of secret documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The charges included willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and making false statements.

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Cannon oversaw that case, repeatedly delayed it, and ultimately dismissed it in July 2024, ruling that Smith's appointment was unconstitutional.

On Friday, Cannon questioned, "At the end of the day, what's the urgency of doing this right now?"

"She was trying to make them say it," Honig said with a smile. "She wanted to say, 'Well what's the rush [Merrick] Garland administration?' Right? The obvious answer is just that because at Monday at noon, this thing will never see the light of day."

Honig backed the Justice Department and said their argument is "correct" that it's up to the attorney general whether to release the report.

"All Trump's team is trying to do — this will sound familiar — is delay. They know once they get to 12:01 on Monday Pam Bondi or whomever is in charge at that moment will make sure that that report never sees the light of day," he said.

Honig later flagged what he felt were a couple of "intriguing" clues.

"I'm going to intrigue you now with things that we might see if we ever see this report. I don't know if we will," he said.

First, he said, Smith has said in court he can prove why Trump took the documents in the first place.

"We've never really learned the answer to that," said Honig.

Secondly, Trump's team has said they don't want the report released because it has information on people who could join the administration.

"Now we know, for example, Kash Patel testified in the grand jury. So there could be information in that report that relates to people who are coming up for advice and consent in the Senate right now. I think there's more interesting stuff in the classified documents report," he said.

Even so, Honig cast doubts on the likelihood the report will ever come out.

Watch the clip below or at this link.