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A former Justice Department prosecutor was indicted Wednesday for allegedly emailing classified records related to former special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into President Donald Trump.
Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, faces four felony charges stemming from his handling of Smith's final report: one count of obstruction of justice, one count of concealing government records and two counts of theft of government property valued at less than $1,000.
According to the lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida, Lineberger is accused of changing the names of electronic files of government records to hide the unauthorized sending of documents to his email accounts.
At the time, he was serving as the Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Fort Pierce branch of the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Florida.
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Jack Smith, former special counsel, arrives for a closed-door presentation before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, DC, on Dec. 17, 2025. (Getty Images)
US District Judge Aileen Cannon previously blocked the public release of a volume of Smith's report related to the classified documents investigation involving Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in January 2025.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the charges against X.
“This afternoon, a former assistant US Attorney who supported Jack Smith's politically charged investigation into President Trump was indicted for stealing classified investigative documents,” Patel wrote. “Carmen Lineberger allegedly emailed confidential material to her personal email, posing as recipes to hide herself from recorded searches.”
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Former special counsel Jack Smith arrives to testify before the House Judiciary Committee about his criminal investigation of President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Jan. 22, 2026. (Kylie Cooper/Reuters)
Lineberger's attorney declined to comment to Fox News Digital.
Smith previously filed charges against Trump saying he illegally tried to rig the 2020 election and improperly withheld national security information.
The classified documents case was later dismissed by Cannon, who ruled that Smith had been illegally appointed as special counsel.
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Former President Donald Trump appears in federal court in Fort Pierce, Fla., March 14, 2024, as his lawyers ask Judge Aileen Cannon to drop special counsel Jack Smith's charges related to classified documents. (Lothar Speer/Anonymous)
Prosecutors allege that Lineberger concealed his actions by saving electronic copies of government records under misleading file names, including “chocolate cake recipe” and “bundt cake recipe,” before sending them to personal Hotmail accounts.
According to the lawsuit, Lineberger received a copy of Smith's report before Cannon ordered it closed. Months later, he allegedly forwarded the report to his email account.
The lawsuit also alleges that Lineberger knew that transferring the dose outside of the Justice Department violated Cannon's court order.
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Then-Special Counsel Jack Smith presented his remarks on the unsealed four-count indictment against former President Donald Trump in Washington on August 1, 2023. (Drew Anger/Getty Images)
Lineberger pleaded not guilty when he appeared in court Wednesday.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction charge, three years on concealing or removing public records and one year on each count of theft.
