DOJ Prosecutor Charged Over Cake-Recipe Emails
A former Justice Department prosecutor is now facing serious federal charges after prosecutors said she sent confidential records tied to Jack Smith’s investigation of President Donald Trump to her personal email accounts.
The defendant, Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, was charged Wednesday in the Southern District of Florida. The case includes 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.
Lineberger pleaded not guilty during a federal court appearance on Wednesday.
At the time of the alleged conduct, 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. According to the indictment, prosecutors say she changed electronic file names on government records to hide unauthorized transfers to personal accounts.
The indictment says she saved copies under misleading names such as “chocolate cake recipe” and “bundt cake recipe,” then sent them to personal Hotmail addresses. Prosecutors also allege that she forwarded a copy of Smith’s final report to her personal email months after receiving it, even after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had ordered part of the material sealed.
That sealed material was tied to the classified documents investigation involving Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Cannon previously blocked public release of the volume connected to that probe 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.
Carmen Lineberger allegedly emailed the confidential material to her…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) May 20, 2026
“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.”
Smith, the former special counsel, brought major indictments against Trump over the 2020 election and the handling of classified documents. The classified documents case was later dismissed by Cannon, who ruled that Smith had been unlawfully appointed as special counsel.
The charges against Lineberger add another ugly twist to an already controversial chapter. They also put a spotlight on how sensitive records were handled inside the Justice Department. If convicted, Lineberger 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.
Lineberger’s attorney declined to comment to Fox News Digital.