The ruling means Trump can ask the Supreme Court to block the release of the report written by special counsel Jack Smith. A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the president-elect would appeal to the high court.

A federal appeals court has blocked a move by Donald Trump's lawyers to stop the Justice Department from releasing Special Counsel Jack Smith's final report on two criminal cases against the former and future president.

A federal appeals court on Thursday declined to block the Justice Department from releasing a report on Donald Trump, which is expected to detail investigations conducted by Special Counsel Jack Smith over attempts to subvert the election results and for mishandling classified documents.