The U.S. Department of Justice logo was observed before a news conference on Monday, May 4, 2026, in Washington, captured by Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP.
WASHINGTON — New legal developments have emerged surrounding Carmen Lineberger, a former federal prosecutor in Florida. An indictment publicized on Wednesday accuses Lineberger of sending a special counsel report from the investigation into President Donald Trump’s classified document retention to her personal email, contravening a judge’s directive to keep it sealed.
Lineberger served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, managing the Fort Pierce branch. She faces charges of theft of government property and concealment of government records, pleading not guilty at a court appearance in West Palm Beach. Her attorney has yet to respond to inquiries.
According to prosecutors, Lineberger forwarded a copy of the report by special counsel Jack Smith to her personal email while serving as a Justice Department prosecutor last December. A judicial order at that time prohibited sharing, transmitting, or distributing the report.
The indictment reveals Lineberger attempted to hide her actions by renaming the report file to “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf,” subsequently saving it on her government computer and emailing it to her personal account under the subject line “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf.”
Months earlier, the indictment notes, Lineberger used her government computer to create a document from internal Justice Department messages, mixed with parts of an official memorandum labeled for official use only. She allegedly sent this to her personal email through a file named “Chocolate_cake_recipe.pdf,” according to the accusations.
The indictment does not clarify the motive behind Lineberger’s decision to send the report to her personal email despite having professional access to it. Judge Aileen Cannon sided with Trump’s legal team, which claimed releasing the document would be prejudicial after Smith ceased the case following Trump’s 2024 election triumph.
Lineberger operated in the judicial district where Smith had filed the case against Trump, accusing him of unlawfully keeping numerous classified records at Mar-a-Lago from his first presidency and obstructing their retrieval.
“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,” FBI Director Kash Patel stated, as posted on X.
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