Jack Smith's final report on Trump investigation blocked by judge

• U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon — who Trump appointed — halted the release of the report until three days after the Eleventh Circuit court responds to a similar emergency motion.

Zoom in: Cannon's order prevents Smith, Attorney General Merrick Garland, the Department of Justice any employees or officers from releasing the final report or any drafts.

• Because the case is now under the jurisdiction of an appeals court, it's unclear whether Cannon can order Garland how to handle the report, the New York Times reported.
• Cannon's order doesn't block Trump or his co-defendants from releasing details of the report themselves, Politico reported.

Context: Trump sought to stop the release of the report, per letters in court filings on Monday.

• Smith responded that it would be up to Garland to determine whether to release any part of the report.
• Jan. 10 was the earliest Garland would have released any details of the report, Smith said in a previous filing. Smith was set to provide Garland with the report Tuesday afternoon.

Zoom out: Smith wound down his prosecutions against Trump after the election.

• Smith dropped all charges against Trump in the federal case over his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
• Smith also dropped his appeal in Trump's classified documents case, which had previously been dismissed by Cannon.

Between the lines: Cannon has faced scrutiny while overseeing cases against Trump for her perceived bias in favor of the president who appointed her.

• Trump has repeatedly defended her, including calling her a "brilliant judge" in a speech on Tuesday.
• "That's a big story," Trump said, responding to Cannon's latest court move.

Go deeper: Trump seeks to stop Smith releasing final report

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout.