Trump probe prosecutor indicted for smuggling secret documents

A federal prosecutor who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into President Donald Trump was indicted May 20 with smuggling out secret office documents - some of which were alleged to be disguised as PDFs containing cake recipes.

Prosecutors charged Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, with four felony counts and faces up to 20 years in prison for “destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations” and more charges for “concealment, removal, or mutilation of public records” and “theft of government property.”

The Florida prosecutor allegedly emailed secret documents labeled “INTERNAL DOJ USE ONLY” to her personal email. She changed the file titles to: "Chocolate_cake_recipe.pdf" and “Bundt_Cake_recipe.pdf.”

The documents were copies of Volume II of Jack Smith’s findings in the classified documents investigation into Trump. The summary has not been made public and a federal judge permanently barred its release earlier in 2026. Volume I of the findings was released publicly.

Lineberger worked as a managing assistant U.S. attorney in the Fort Pierce office of the Southern District of Florida. She was arraigned in West Palm Beach on May 20 and entered a not guilty plea. A special prosecutor from the Northern District of Florida will handle the case.

FBI Director Kash Patel announced the charges and wrote on social media, “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.”