Ex-Justice Department Prosecutor Charged in Trump Document Case

A former prosecutor from the Justice Department has been charged with illegal handling of confidential records related to the investigation of former President Donald Trump. Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, from Port St. Lucie, Florida, faces four criminal charges. These include felony counts of obstruction of justice and concealing government records, along with two misdemeanor counts of theft of government property, each valued at less than $1,000.

The Southern District of Florida indictment claims Lineberger edited electronic file names of government records to hide unauthorized transmissions to her personal email accounts. During this time, she was the Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Fort Pierce branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had blocked the release of a report volume related to Smith’s classified documents investigation involving Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate back in January 2025. said FBI Director Kash Patel in a public statement.

In a statement on X, Patel announced, This afternoon, a former managing assistant U.S. Attorney who supported Jack Smith’s politicized investigation of President Trump has been charged with stealing the confidential investigation documents. Patel indicated Lineberger allegedly emailed the confidential material to her own email, disguising them as dessert recipes to avoid detection.

Lineberger’s attorney has declined to comment on the charges.

Former special counsel Jack Smith had previously brought charges against Trump for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election and retaining classified defense information. Judge Cannon later dismissed these charges, stating Smith had been unlawfully appointed.

Lineberger is accused of hiding her actions by saving government records under deceptive file names like chocolate cake recipe and bundt cake recipe before emailing them to her Hotmail accounts. The indictment states Lineberger received Smith’s report before the issuance of Judge Cannon’s sealing order and later forwarded it to her personal email, knowing it violated the court’s order.

If convicted, Lineberger could face up to 20 years in prison for the obstruction charge, three years for record concealment or removal, and up to one year for each theft count.