An appeals court granted a request from President Donald Trump and his former co-defendants in the classified documents case to further delay a hearing on whether Jack Smith’s report on the probe can be released.

When they asked to postpone the previously scheduled Nov. 2 oral argument, among the conflicts they cited was the president’s “extensive commitments, including travel and other obligations in advance of the November 3, 2026, federal midterm elections.” They said those commitments would hinder Trump’s personal counsel from having enough time to talk with the president about the case ahead of Nov. 2.

When it granted the postponement on Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit didn’t say whether it was moved by that claim or the more typical scheduling issues raised by lawyers for Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, who were charged alongside Trump in the case that Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed pretrial in the summer of 2024.

All three men had pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges brought by the former special counsel, who alleged a scheme to unlawfully keep national defense information in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and conceal the documents there.

The circuit court that covers appeals from Florida said in its brief order that it would “schedule oral argument at a time convenient to the panel and the attorneys.”

While Smith’s report on Trump’s other federal prosecution in the election interference case has already been released, the volume on the documents case has been kept from public view. That’s due to orders from Cannon.

Two outside groups, American Oversight and the Knight First Amendment Institute, have been pressing for the report’s release. Oral argument in their effort kept being put off for unclear reasons, including being scheduled for a date as far out as January 2027. But the circuit court recently notified the parties that it would hear arguments on Nov. 2, prompting the Trump camp’s continuance motion that the court granted this week.

Now it is unclear when the hearing will take place. Importantly, the scheduling saga doesn’t mean the appeals court will uphold Cannon’s actions when it finally rules on the matter. Indeed, the appellate court previously overturned her handling of related litigation. But it means we are again awaiting an undetermined date to learn which way that higher court might be leaning. Whatever that court decides when it rules at some point after the hearing, the Supreme Court could have the last word.

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