Former DOJ official accused of secretly sending herself Trump case files, disguised as ‘cake recipes’

A former federal prosecutor in Florida has been charged with illegally sending herself confidential Justice Department records linked to special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Donald Trump.

Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, faces two felony charges over her handling of Volume II of Smith’s final report, which examined allegations that Trump and two associates mishandled classified documents after his first presidency.

Prosecutors allege Lineberger emailed the confidential files to her personal accounts while disguising them as dessert recipes.

According to court filings, she allegedly sent the report to her Hotmail account with the subject line “chocolate cake recipe” before later forwarding it to a Gmail account under the file name “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf.”

Lineberger has also been charged with two misdemeanour counts of theft of government property valued below $1,000.

She pleaded not guilty on Wednesday and was not detained following her arrest. Her lawyer declined to comment.

The report had been blocked from public release in 2025 by federal judge Aileen Cannon, who argued it was “not customary” for prosecutors to release findings from a dismissed case.

Lineberger worked in the Southern District of Florida US Attorney’s Office for nearly two decades before retiring in December.