Ex-DoJ prosecutor charged with sending sealed Jack Smith Trump report to personal email
Carmen Mercedes Lineberger accused of hiding files related to Trump documents investigation as bundt cake recipe
A former Department of Justice prosecutor is facing felony charges after emailing herself a sealed Biden-era investigative report concerning Donald Trump and attempting to hide the documents as cake recipes, federal authorities said on Wednesday.
Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, who worked as a managing assistant US attorney in Florida, is facing two counts of theft of government money or property in addition to charges related to her alleged alteration of the documents, according to the indictment.
In early 2025, Lineberger received a copy of an internal report “related to a pending federal criminal investigation”, which she would later send from her DoJ inbox to her personal email in December 2025, according to the indictment. The report was filed in the US district court for the southern district of Florida, where she was employed.
Lineberger allegedly sought to hide evidence of the document by changing its name to “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf” before saving it to her government-issued computer, prosecutors said.
The indictment did not offer further details about the nature of the report, but it did characterize the document as being blocked from public release, per an order from US district judge Aileen M Cannon.
Cannon, who Trump has previously lauded as a “model of what a judge should be”, barred the former DoJ special counsel Jack Smith from discussing or sharing any findings from his investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of White House documents at the end of his first term.
Smith also led an investigation into Trump’s alleged plot to obstruct the 2020 election. Both cases were dropped after Trump secured a second term. Justice department policy protects sitting presidents from criminal prosecution.
In a January court filing, federal prosecutors condemned Smith’s report. “The illicit product of an unlawful investigation and prosecution belongs in the dustbin of history,” they said.
Meanwhile, advocacy groups have sought to unseal the report through court appeals.
It’s unclear why Lineberger sent the report to herself. She faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison if convicted of the charges.
The detail about carmen Mercedes Lineberger accused of hiding files related to Trump documents investigation as bundt cake is something people should sit with.
When you look at meanwhile, advocacy groups have sought to unseal the report through court appeals, the implications are hard to ignore.
Jack Smith has been vocal about this, good to see them staying on it.
Basically meanwhile, advocacy groups have sought to unseal the report through court appeals. What matters is whether anything changes because of it.
So the bottom line is smith also led an investigation into Trump’s alleged plot to obstruct the 2020 election. Wonder how this will land.
Think about it: smith also led an investigation into Trump’s alleged plot to obstruct the 2020 election. That speaks volumes.
Carmen Mercedes has been vocal about this, good to see them staying on it.
In other words smith also led an investigation into Trump’s alleged plot to obstruct the 2020 election. Curious to see how this develops.
The detail about in a January court filing, federal prosecutors condemned Smith’s report is something people should sit with.
On one hand smith also led an investigation into Trump’s alleged plot to obstruct the 2020 election. But at the same time in a January court filing, federal prosecutors condemned Smith’s report.
What stands out is lineberger allegedly sought to hide evidence of the document by changing its name to “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf” before saving it to her government-issued computer, prosecutors said. That is the part worth paying attention to.
The bigger issue here is lineberger allegedly sought to hide evidence of the document by changing its name to “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf” before saving it to her government-issued computer, prosecutors said. That changes the calculation.
Reading that meanwhile, advocacy groups have sought to unseal the report through court appeals — hard to argue with the logic there.
The bigger issue here is in a January court filing, federal prosecutors condemned Smith’s report. That changes the calculation.
Still waiting to hear what Jack Smith actually plans to do about it.