What did Donald Trump do today?

He made one last desperate attempt to prevent the release of the report on his Jan. 6 activities (and failed).

As required by law, outgoing special counsel Jack Smith has compiled a two-volume report summarizing the results of his investigations into Trump. This was divided into two volumes. The first deals with Trump's actions in furtherance of his conspiracy to remain in office in spite of the results of the 2020 election, including but not limited to his role in the January 6th riot that nearly prevented Congress from acting to certify President Biden's victory. The second deals with the actions undertaken by Trump and several of his employees to, in effect, steal classified government documents and hide them in a Mar-a-Lago bathroom. 

The judge in his classified documents trial, Aileen Cannon—herself a Trump appointee—issued an injunction last week preventing either from being released, even though her case had nothing to do with the election interference case. Following a ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturning that blanket order, she instructed that the election interference material (Volume I) could be released after three days—meaning midnight tonight.

With just a few hours to go, Trump made one last desperate attempt to keep the report secret long enough for him to take office and—presumably—bury it forever, or at least as long as he remains in power. His legal pleading called it an "attempt to interfere with an incoming Presidential administration in this manner, let alone on the very eve of inauguration by means of a false report issued by a discredited prosecutor who has now resigned in disgrace."

(It is true that Smith resigned—because his investigation was complete and the Department of Justice has acknowledged that Trump will never permit any criminal investigation into himself or his allies. Trump remains at risk of federal prosecution in both cases, though not while he is in office.)

At 11:30 PM, Cannon issued an order denying Trump's motion. It was couched in dry legal language, and suggests that she had no ability to rule otherwise, although that is not strictly true. At worst, she would likely have been overruled by the 11th Circuit again, something that has happened quite often since the man who appointed her became a criminal defendant in her court.

As of the time this post was published, it is not clear what—other than Americans being reminded of a coup attempt that played out mostly in full view of the cameras—Trump is so afraid of. He and his lawyers have seen the report, which may contain damning or embarrassing information not previously made public. 

UPDATE: Volume I has been released and is available here.

Why does this matter?

• In a democracy, government officials don't get to disappear evidence of their wrongdoing just because it might embarrass them or hurt them politically.

• In a democracy, nobody is supposed to be above the law—and if they are, that doesn't mean that some small measure of accountability is an "unfair attack."

• The American people might be interested in knowing who they've elected.