A former prosecutor from the Justice Department, Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, from Port St. Lucie, Florida, has been charged with four criminal offenses. These charges relate to her alleged misuse of confidential records linked to former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Donald Trump.
Lineberger faces charges including one felony count of obstruction of justice, one felony count of concealing government records, and two misdemeanor counts for theft of government property valued under $1,000. The indictment in the Southern District of Florida states she disguised electronic file names of government records to hide unauthorized email transfers to her personal accounts.
At the time, Lineberger was the Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney at the Fort Pierce branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
“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,” FBI Director Kash Patel announced via X.
According to prosecutors, she used file names like “chocolate cake recipe” to mask sensitive documents, which she then sent to her Hotmail accounts. She received Smith’s report before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ordered it sealed. Her actions allegedly violated a court order, which prohibited the transmission of the report outside the Department of Justice.
Lineberger pleaded not guilty during her federal court appearance. If found guilty, she could face up to 20 years for obstruction, three years for concealing records, and one year for each theft count.