WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the public release of special counsel Jack Smith’s report on investigations into Donald Trump as an appeals court weighs a challenge to the disclosure of the document days before the president-elect reclaims office.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon may represent a short-lived victory for Trump, but it’s nonetheless the latest instance of the Trump-appointed jurist taking action in the Republican’s favor. The halt followed an emergency request Monday by defense lawyers to block the release of a report that they said would be one-sided and prejudicial.

Trump responded to Cannon’s order by complaining anew at a news conference about Smith’s investigation and saying, “It’ll be a fake report just like it was a fake investigation.”

It was unclear what the Justice Department, which has its own guidelines governing special counsels and the reports they are expected to produce when they conclude their own, intended to do following Cannon’s order.

— The Associated Press