Former Southern District of Florida prosecutor Carmen Mercedes Lineberger has been charged with secretly emailing herself confidential records from Jack Smith’s classified documents investigation into Donald Trump, with prosecutors alleging she disguised the files as dessert recipes despite a federal court order blocking their release.
Federal authorities say Lineberger sent herself Volume II of Smith’s classified documents report using subject lines including “chocolate cake recipe” and “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf.”
The report outlined Smith’s findings that Trump and two co-defendants mishandled classified government records after leaving office and obstructed efforts to recover them.
She now faces two felony charges connected to the alleged transmission and retention of the report, along with two misdemeanor counts accusing her of theft of government property linked to the separate transfers.
The prosecution places renewed attention on one of the most politically sensitive investigations handled by the Justice Department in recent years. Volume II remains under seal after Cannon ruled the report should not be released publicly because Trump’s co-defendants never stood trial following dismissal of the underlying case.
The indictment also creates an unusual overlap between Trump’s former defense team and the department now pursuing the prosecution. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously represented Trump in the classified documents case, appears in the signature block attached to the indictment against Lineberger.
Lineberger spent nearly two decades with the Southern District of Florida before retiring from the Justice Department in December. Although she was not formally part of Jack Smith’s special counsel team, prosecutors say the office assisted aspects of the investigation before Smith’s appointment and during the 2022 federal search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Donald Trump, previously dismissed the classified documents case after concluding that Jack Smith’s appointment as special counsel did not satisfy constitutional requirements. The ruling effectively brought the federal prosecution to an end before Trump returned to office.
Court filings surrounding the leaked report dispute have continued long after the dismissal itself. Trump administration Justice Department officials, several of whom previously represented Trump personally, have argued in ongoing litigation that Smith’s filings and conclusions should never have entered the public domain.
Prosecutors from northern Florida are handling the case due to Lineberger’s previous supervisory role within the Southern District of Florida office involved in the Trump classified documents prosecution.
Lineberger pleaded not guilty on Wednesday and was released without detention or bond conditions. Her attorney declined to comment after the hearing.