A former managing assistant US legal professional in the Southern District of Florida has been charged with emailing herself the most sought-after, confidential Justice Department data in particular counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of President Donald Trump, masquerading them as dessert recipes.
Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, was charged with two counts of theft of presidency cash or property, valued lower than $1,000. She entered a plea of not responsible on Wednesday.
Prosecutors allege Lineberger obtained an e mail on her Justice Department account in January 2025 with copies of a report entitled “Volume II Report” that was associated to a pending investigation. The Volume II report was the last discovering of Smith’s investigation of Trump and his alleged mishandling of categorised documents.
Lineberger was in a supervisory function in the Southern District of Florida US Attorney’s Office, based mostly in Fort Pierce, throughout the time of the investigation and prosecution of Trump.
While she was not on the particular counsel group, the US Attorney’s Office performed a supporting function to some elements of Smith’s work, together with earlier than the particular counsel was appointed and Trump’s private space of his Mar-a-Lago resort have been searched in 2022.
The Justice Department alleges that in September 2025, Lineberger compiled parts of an inner DOJ memorandum and transmitted messages she obtained on her authorities e mail account to her private Hotmail e mail account, with the topic line “chocolate cake recipe.”
Lineberger can also be accused of accessing the e mail she obtained earlier in the yr with the Volume II Report in December 2025, and sharing it to her private Gmail account with the file renamed “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf”
District Judge Aileen Cannon barred the launch of Volume II in February 2026. She wrote in a 15-page ruling that’s was “not customary” for a prosecutor to launch findings publicly for a case that was dismissed. Cannon had tossed the case in opposition to Trump earlier than he was re-elected to a second time period, citing that the appointment of Smith as a particular counsel was unconstitutional.
The indictment mentions that Cannon issued an order on January 2025 relating to the report that prohibited any Justice Department official from “releasing, sharing or transmitting” the report outdoors of the division.
Top Trump Justice Department officers, who have been Trump’s private attorneys on the categorised documents case, and attorneys for his two codefendants have argued that Smith’s filings ought to by no means be launched and have been invalid.
If convicted, Lineberger might withstand 20 years in jail.