A former federal prosecutor in Florida, Carmen Lineberger, faces charges related to the unauthorized sharing of a special counsel report on former President Donald Trump. The indictment, disclosed on Wednesday, charges her with theft of government property and concealment of government records. Lineberger, who managed the Fort Pierce branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, has pleaded not guilty in a West Palm Beach court.
Prosecutors allege that while serving as a Justice Department prosecutor, Lineberger sent a sealed report to her personal email account. Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team prepared the report, which focused on Trump’s retention of top-secret documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A judicial order had prohibited Justice Department employees from distributing the document at the time.
The indictment claims Lineberger tried to cover her actions by renaming the report to “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf” before emailing it to herself. It also details a previous incident where she emailed another document with sensitive Justice Department messages under the file name “Chocolate_cake_recipe.pdf.”
“This FBI will not hesitate to bring to account those who violated the trust of the American public in an investigation that should’ve never been brought to begin with,” stated FBI Director Kash Patel.
The special counsel’s report has not been publicly released. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon agreed with Trump’s lawyers that publishing it would be prejudicial after Smith dropped the case following Trump’s 2024 election win. The initial case alleged Trump improperly kept classified records and obstructed government retrieval efforts.