HOUSTON, US

A federal appeals court on Thursday denied an emergency request by US President-elect Donald Trump to bar the release of special counsel Jack Smith's final report on the Jan. 6 case, according to media reports.

The investigation details Trump's efforts to block the peaceful transfer of power after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, which led to the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request after Trump's legal team asked two different courts this week to prevent the release of Smith's report on the investigation.

The court, however, put a three-day hold on the release of the Jan. 6 report, which would allow for more appeals, which Trump's lawyers have indicated would be the case, including taking the case to the Supreme Court.

Smith's investigation also covers Trump’s removal of classified documents from the White House and transferring them to his Mar-a-Lago, Florida resort after finishing his first term in office.

Federal prosecutors, however, argued that there was no need to release both parts of Smith’s investigation, citing in a Wednesday filing that Attorney General Merrick Garland had determined it would be appropriate to publicly release only the Jan. 6 portion of the two-volume report.

Per Smith's recommendation, Garland committed to not releasing the volume related to the classified documents probe to avoid prejudicing a future jury.

Two other defendants -- Trump's valet Walt Nauta and property manager Carlos de Oliveira -- remain on trial even after charges against Trump were dropped due to the Justice Department's policy of barring the prosecution of a sitting president.

Garland's decision assures that the public will never see Smith’s report reviewing Trump’s mishandling of classified records unless those details come out during the trials of Nauta and Oliveira.

The president-elect has already tapped his incoming criminal defense team to fill vacancies in the Justice Department, which legal experts say will likely include dropping the charges against the two co-defendants.

While Thursday's decision gives the green light for the release of Smith's Jan. 6 report, further appeals and legal wranglings by Trump's legal team are likely to keep those documents under wraps until all appeals are exhausted.

Trump will be sworn in for his second term in the Oval Office on Jan. 20.