A former federal prosecutor in South Florida has been indicted for allegedly stealing a sealed copy of Jack Smith’s Volume II report on President Donald Trump’s classified documents investigation and emailing it to her personal Gmail account.
The file name she allegedly used to disguise the document was “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf.”
Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, who served as the managing assistant U.S. attorney in the Fort Pierce branch of the Southern District of Florida, faces a four-count indictment that includes theft of government property and concealment of government records.
Lineberger pleaded not guilty during a court appearance in West Palm Beach and was released without bond.
According to prosecutors, Lineberger emailed the sealed report from her government account to her personal email on December 1, 2025. The report, which was ordered sealed by Judge Aileen Cannon and has never been seen by the public, was part of Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s retention of top-secret documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
The indictment also alleges that Lineberger created a document consisting of portions of internal Justice Department messages and an internal memorandum with header and footer markings indicating it was for official use only. She allegedly sent this material to her personal email address via an attached file titled “chocolate_cake_recipe.pdf.”
Lineberger is accused of altering the original file names of government records she received in her official capacity to conceal unauthorized electronic transmission of those records.
The case, handled jointly by the FBI and the DOJ Office of Inspector General, involves a special prosecutor from outside the Southern District of Florida to avoid conflicts of interest.
