On Wednesday, the Justice Department requested that a federal appeals court dismiss the criminal charges against two of former President Donald Trump’s co-defendants, who faced allegations of conspiring to conceal classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Byrne from Florida asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to terminate the case against the co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, such that it cannot be brought back in the future.

Previously, former special counsel Jack Smith had dropped two federal cases against Trump related to charges of attempting to steal the 2020 election and unlawfully retaining national defense records after leaving the White House, following his victory in the Nov. 5 election. A longstanding policy of the department prohibits prosecuting a sitting president.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida dismissed the classified documents case against Trump, Nauta, and De Oliveira, citing that Smith was appointed improperly.

However, federal prosecutors under ex-Attorney General Merrick Garland sought to challenge her ruling concerning the remaining charges against Nauta and De Oliveira. They contended that special counsels have been authorized for decades to carry out independent criminal investigations.

Trump faced accusations of improperly handling classified documents, which included allegations of willfully keeping national defense information post-presidency. The documents reportedly contained sensitive data regarding U.S. and foreign military capabilities.

Trump has frequently criticized the Justice Department and the FBI for their search of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022, when the documents were seized.

While the appeals court has not yet responded to O’Byrne’s request, this motion essentially signals the conclusion of this lengthy case. Nauta and De Oliveira pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations against them.

Garland unveiled a portion of Smith’s final report outlining the evidence and rationale for pursuing charges in the election interference case. However, he noted that he would not publicly disclose the second part of the report concerning the classified documents case until the situation with Nauta and De Oliveira was settled.

Garland mentioned that he would share the report with the leading Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, but Judge Cannon blocked this action.