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Former federal prosecutor indicted for stealing copies of unreleased Jack Smith report

Carmen Lineberger is accused of sending the report to her private email account, in violation of Judge Aileen Cannon’s order.

Various flags are seen near a plaque at the Department of Justice.

Various flags are seen near a plaque at Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 19, 2025. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

By Josh Gerstein05/20/2026 02:41 PM EDTUpdated: 

A former Justice Department prosecutor has been charged with sending herself copies of an unreleased volume of special counsel Jack Smith’s report on his investigation into President Donald Trump.

Carmen Lineberger, 62, entered a not guilty plea to four charges related to stealing and concealing government records in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. She was released on her own recognizance, court records show.

The indictment says Lineberger, who was the managing assistant U.S. attorney in Fort Pierce, Florida, received a copy of the restricted Smith report volume by email last year and sent it and other internal DOJ messages to her personal Hotmail and Gmail accounts.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has barred public release of that volume of Smith’s report, which discusses his investigation into the presence of classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.

An attorney for Lineberger, Tama Kudman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The indictment returned Tuesday says Lineberger sought to cover her tracks by using the file names “Chocolate_ Cake_Recipe.pdf” and “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf” for the internal government records she moved to her personal accounts.

However, the charges and a Justice Department press release don’t make any claims about why Lineberger moved the documents to her private emails. The indictment also doesn’t provide details of what, besides the report, was in emails and documents she moved to personal accounts.

Lineberger faces one felony count of obstruction of justice, one felony count of concealing government records and two misdemeanor counts of stealing government property valued at under $1,000. The maximum sentence if convicted on all charges is 25 years in prison, although federal defendants typically receive significantly shorter terms under federal sentencing guidelines.

The case is being handled by prosecutors from the Northern District of Florida, likely because Lineberger’s ties to people in the U.S. Attorney’s Ooffice for Southern Florida could create a conflict of interest.