The Department of Justice charged a senior federal prosecutor with multiple felonies after she allegedly attempted to steal a confidential report related to former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified materials. Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, a managing assistant U.S. attorney in Florida, was indicted for downloading the sealed report and emailing it to her personal account under a disguised filename.
The report in question was prepared by then-special counsel Jack Smith in the final days before Trump’s presidential inauguration. It details allegations that Trump unlawfully retained classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and obstructed investigations into their retrieval. The document has been kept sealed from the public since early 2025 under court order.
According to the indictment, Lineberger renamed the report as “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf” before sending it from her Department of Justice email to her personal Gmail account. Prosecutors accuse her of accessing and transmitting this sensitive material without authorization. Lineberger appeared in federal court, entered a not guilty plea, and her attorney declined to comment.
The sealed report itself has been at the center of legal battles since its creation, with former President Trump’s legal team successfully lobbying to keep it confidential. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled the special counsel was improperly appointed and dismissed the criminal case against Trump, while later barring the DOJ from publicly releasing the report. Two legal advocacy groups are currently appealing those restrictions, arguing for transparency and public access to the document.
It remains unclear whether prosecutors will claim Lineberger intended to leak or distribute the report beyond her personal use. The DOJ’s indictment focuses on the unauthorized access and transmission of classified investigative materials. The case highlights ongoing tensions surrounding legal proceedings involving Trump and classified information.