- Targeted stakeholdersIncreases public access to Special Counsel findings and prosecutorial rationale.
- Targeted stakeholdersEnables journalists, scholars, and Congress to review and analyze the report promptly.
- Targeted stakeholdersMay reduce the number of individual Freedom of Information Act requests on the same material.
Volume II Transparency Act of 2026
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
The bill directs the Attorney General to publish, within 7 days of enactment, volume II of the Special Counsel Jack Smith report on the Department of Justice website.
The Attorney General may redact names of witnesses who did not aid or abet alleged crimes, victims, and national security information; the AG may disclose national-security redactions if deemed in the public interest.
Very narrow and low-cost but politically sensitive; House passage plausible, Senate and litigation risks substantially lower final enactment probability.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a concise operational directive that clearly identifies the responsible official and imposes a short deadline for publication, but it lacks contextual findings, legal integration, and procedural safeguards for foreseeable complications.
Transparency demand versus legal protections like grand jury secrecy.
Who stands to gain, and who may push back.
- Targeted stakeholdersPublic release may risk exposing sensitive national security information despite allowable redactions.
- Targeted stakeholdersIncomplete redactions could identify witnesses or victims, risking safety and privacy.
- Targeted stakeholdersDOJ will incur staff time and legal costs to review and redact the document quickly.
Why the argument around this bill splits.
Transparency demand versus legal protections like grand jury secrecy.
Likely supportive of publication in principle because of government accountability and transparency.
Concerned about protecting victims, witnesses, ongoing prosecutions, and sensitive national security material; wants safeguards and judicial oversight.
Mixed view: values transparency but is worried the bill's 'notwithstanding any other law' language and seven-day deadline may conflict with legal protections.
Wants a measured release process balancing openness and legal/computer security obligations.
Generally strongly supportive, framing the bill as necessary transparency and accountability of an important DOJ document.
Views rapid public release as correcting perceived institutional secrecy.
The path through Congress.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Very narrow and low-cost but politically sensitive; House passage plausible, Senate and litigation risks substantially lower final enactment probability.
- Support levels among members in each chamber
- Potential DOJ legal challenge or refusal to comply
Recent votes on the bill.
No vote history yet
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Go deeper than the headline read.
Transparency demand versus legal protections like grand jury secrecy.
Very narrow and low-cost but politically sensitive; House passage plausible, Senate and litigation risks substantially lower final enactmen…
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a concise operational directive that clearly identifies the responsible official and imposes a short deadline for publication, but it lacks contextual findings, le…
Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.