A former federal prosecutor in Florida has been indicted on felony charges for emailing a sealed investigative report about Donald Trump to her personal account and attempting to conceal it by renaming the file after a dessert.
Carmen Mercedes Lineberger worked as a managing assistant US attorney in the southern district of Florida. Prosecutors allege she obtained an internal report tied to an active federal criminal investigation in early 2025, then forwarded it from her Justice Department inbox to her personal email in December 2025.
The indictment states that Lineberger then renamed the document "Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf" before saving it to her government computer. She faces two counts of theft of government property and additional charges related to the alleged alteration of the documents. Conviction on these charges carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
The sealed report was subject to a protective order issued by US District Judge Aileen M. Cannon, which barred its public release. The document originated from Jack Smith's investigation into Trump's handling of classified materials after his first term. Smith, who served as special counsel, also investigated Trump's alleged efforts to obstruct the 2020 election results. Both cases were abandoned after Trump won the 2024 presidential election, as Justice Department policy prohibits criminal prosecution of sitting presidents.
Cannon issued the secrecy order blocking Smith from discussing or sharing his investigative findings. Trump has previously characterized Cannon as a "model of what a judge should be."
Recent court filings from federal prosecutors have attacked the validity of Smith's investigation, calling his report "the illicit product of an unlawful investigation and prosecution" that "belongs in the dustbin of history." Meanwhile, watchdog groups have filed separate appeals seeking to unseal the report through the courts.
The indictment does not specify Lineberger's motive for sending the sealed report to herself or explain why she disguised the document's name. She was charged in Florida's southern district court.
Author James Rodriguez: "Renaming a classified Trump report as a bundt cake recipe is either the work of someone genuinely panicked about exposure, or someone confident the disguise would buy enough time."
Comments