By Federal prosecutors have charged a former senior assistant U.S. attorney with stealing a sealed special counsel report on the classified documents investigation involving President Donald Trump, alleging that she sent the sensitive material to her personal email account under the name “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf.”
Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, who served as managing assistant U.S. attorney in Fort Pierce, Florida, was indicted on four felony counts, including theft of government property. She pleaded not guilty Wednesday during a federal court hearing in Florida.
The indictment alleges that Lineberger emailed the sealed report from her government account to her personal account in December 2025, writes The Washington Post Prosecutors say the file name was intended to disguise the contents of the document and help avoid detection.
The report at issue was prepared by Special Counsel Jack Smith and summarized his investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents. At the time of the alleged theft, U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon had ordered the report to remain sealed to protect the interests of individuals named in it who had not been charged or convicted of a crime. Cannon later made the sealing order permanent.
🚨 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
Lineberger had access to the report through her role in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The indictment does not say what she allegedly planned to do with the document after sending it to herself.
Her attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment by The Post.
The sealed report was completed in the final days of the Biden administration. It was never released publicly, unlike Smith’s separate summary of his investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election.
In an effort to shape 2024 election, Trump had been charged with 40 counts in the classified documents case, including allegations that he unlawfully retained classified information, obstructed investigators, and made false statements. Cannon dismissed the indictment in a major ruling that raised questions about the legality of Smith’s appointment as special counsel.
The charges against Lineberger add another layer to the fallout from Smith’s investigations, shifting attention from the underlying Trump case to the conduct of federal personnel who had access to sensitive investigative materials and the weaponization of the Department of Justice against political opponents of Democrats.
It’s been previously revealed that Smith and his cronies were spying on Republican senators.
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