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A former Justice Department prosecutor was charged Wednesday with allegedly emailing confidential records tied to former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Donald Trump.
Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, faces four criminal charges stemming from her handling of Smith’s final report: one felony count of obstruction of justice, one felony count of concealing government records and two misdemeanor counts of theft of government property valued at less than $1,000.
According to the indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida, Lineberger allegedly altered electronic file names of government records to conceal unauthorized transmissions of the documents to her personal email accounts.
At the time, she was serving as the Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Fort Pierce branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
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Jack Smith, former special counsel, arrives for a closed-door deposition before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 17, 2025. (Getty Images)
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon previously blocked the public release of the volume of Smith’s report related to the classified documents investigation involving Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in January 2025.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the charges in a post on X.
“This afternoon, a former managing assistant U.S. Attorney who supported Jack Smith’s politicized investigation of President Trump has been charged with stealing the confidential investigation documents,” Patel wrote. “Carmen Lineberger allegedly emailed the confidential material to her own personal email, disguising them as dessert recipes to conceal them from record searches.”
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Former special counsel Jack Smith arrives to testify before the House Judiciary Committee about his criminal investigation of President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 22, 2026. (Kylie Cooper/Reuters)
Lineberger’s attorney declined to comment to Digital.
Smith previously brought indictments against Trump alleging he illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 election and improperly retained classified national defense information.
The classified documents case was later dismissed by Cannon, who ruled Smith had been unlawfully appointed as special counsel.
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Former President Donald Trump appears in federal court in Fort Pierce, Fla., on March 14, 2024, as his lawyers ask Judge Aileen Cannon to dismiss special counsel Jack Smith’s charges related to classified documents. (Lothar Speer/Unknown)
Prosecutors alleged Lineberger concealed her actions by saving electronic copies of government records under misleading file names, including “chocolate cake recipe” and “bundt cake recipe,” before sending them to personal Hotmail accounts.
According to the indictment, Lineberger received a copy of Smith’s report before Cannon ordered it sealed. Months later, she allegedly forwarded the report to her personal email account.
The indictment further alleges Lineberger knew transmitting the volume outside the Department of Justice violated Cannon’s court order.
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Then-Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on an unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former President Donald Trump in Washington on Aug. 1, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Lineberger pleaded not guilty during a federal court appearance Wednesday.
If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction charge, three years for concealment or removal of public records and up to one year on each theft count.
