A federal appeals court paved the way Thursday for special counsel Jack Smith to release a final report on President-elect Trump's two dismissed federal criminal cases. The big picture: Trump and two of his former co-defendants have fought the release of the report on his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election and handling of classified documents.

Special counsel Jack Smith’s report on his election subversion and January 6, 2021, investigation of Donald Trump can be made public, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, while leaving in place a lower judge’s three-day hold that could give Trump time to ask the Supreme Court to intervene.