The Division of Justice on Wednesday charged a longtime federal prosecutor with making an attempt to steal a sealed report ready by then-special counsel Jack Smith on President Donald Trump’s alleged retention of classified documents.
A grand jury indicted Carmen Mercedes Lineberger — a managing assistant U.S. lawyer in Fort Pierce, Florida — with 4 felony counts for allegedly making an attempt to steal the report, which has been sealed from public view for greater than a yr.
Prosecutors allege that Lineberger downloaded a replica of the sealed report onto her work laptop and despatched it to her private e-mail account in January of 2025.
In keeping with the indictment, Lineberger renamed the report “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf” earlier than attaching it to an e-mail from her DOJ account to her private Gmail account.
The report has remained secret since January 2025, when it was ready by Smith within the closing days earlier than Trump’s inauguration to summarize Trump’s alleged crimes. U.S. District Choose Aileen Cannon ordered the report be kept secret after a push from Trump’s attorneys to seal the information, and the Division of Justice beneath the Trump administration has since fought to make sure the report is rarely launched.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 40 counts of retaining labeled info, obstruction of justice, and false statements after Smith alleged he not solely saved a trove of labeled paperwork at his Mar-a-Lago property after leaving workplace in 2021, but additionally actively impeded regulation enforcement from retrieving them. After months of litigation, Choose Cannon dismissed the case on the grounds that Smith was not correctly appointed particular counsel.
FBI {photograph} of redacted paperwork and labeled cowl sheets recovered from a container saved in former U.S. president Donald Trump’s Florida property that was included in a U.S. Division of Justice submitting, Aug. 30, 2022.
U.S. Division Of Justice
Earlier this yr, Cannon issued a further order completely limiting the division from releasing the report. Two authorized teams are within the midst of interesting her orders arguing disclosure of the report stays within the public’s curiosity.
It is not instantly clear based mostly on courtroom papers unsealed Wednesday if prosecutors will argue that Lineberger meant to leak the contents of the report.
She made her preliminary look in federal courtroom in West Palm Seashore Wednesday and entered a not responsible plea to the indictment. An lawyer listed as representing Lineberger declined to remark when reached by ABC Information.
