Former Prosecutor Indicted Over Alleged Theft of Jack Smith Files

By Blessing Nweke

A former federal prosecutor has been indicted on charges of allegedly taking confidential Justice Department records tied to special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into allegations that President Donald Trump mishandled classified documents after leaving office.

Federal prosecutors said Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, faces four criminal counts involving the theft, concealment and alteration of government records. According to a nine-page indictment unsealed Wednesday, Lineberger allegedly emailed sensitive files to her personal Hotmail and Gmail accounts while serving as a managing assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Florida.

Investigators allege the records included a confidential volume of Smith’s report examining Trump’s handling of classified materials. Court documents state that between September and December last year, Lineberger changed file names to disguise the documents before sending them outside government systems.

The indictment says she used labels such as “chocolate cake recipe” and “bundt cake recipe” in an apparent effort to avoid detection. Prosecutors did not accuse her of sharing the files with anyone else.

Lineberger appeared in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday for her arraignment. If convicted on all counts, she could face more than 20 years in prison.

Her attorney declined to comment on the case.

The prosecution is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida rather than the Southern District of Florida, where Lineberger previously worked.

The case involves documents connected to Smith’s investigation into Trump’s retention of classified records after his presidency. Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon blocked the public release of part of Smith’s report, ruling that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional after she dismissed the underlying case against Trump in 2024.