{"id":2605185,"date":"2026-05-20T16:59:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-prosecutor-charged-for-disguising-sealed-trump-report-as-cake-recipes\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T17:03:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T21:03:19","slug":"former-prosecutor-charged-for-disguising-sealed-trump-report-as-cake-recipes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-prosecutor-charged-for-disguising-sealed-trump-report-as-cake-recipes\/","title":{"rendered":"Former prosecutor charged for disguising sealed Trump report as cake recipes"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fformer-prosecutor-charged-for-disguising-sealed-trump-report-as-cake-recipes%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2605185&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A former federal prosecutor in Florida, Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, has been indicted for allegedly concealing and mishandling sealed Justice Department records related to Jack Smith\u2019s investigation of Donald Trump\u2019s classified documents. Prosecutors say that while she served as a managing assistant U.S. attorney, she accessed sensitive DOJ material and secretly emailed it to herself through personal accounts, renaming files with misleading \u201cdessert recipe\u201d titles-such as \u201cchocolate cake recipe\u201d and \u201cbundt cake recipe\u201d-to avoid detection.<\/p>\n<p>The indictment claims she transmitted a sealed \u201cVolume II Report\u201d prepared by Smith, along with parts of an internal DOJ memorandum, using her DOJ email to her personal gmail or Hotmail accounts. It alleges she knew the transfers violated court orders designed to prevent the report\u2019s disclosure during ongoing litigation and could interfere with the underlying prosecution.<\/p>\n<p>Judge Aileen Cannon previously issued orders blocking the report\u2019s release to outsiders, and later permanently barred public release of Volume II. Lineberger has pleaded not guilty, and investigators including the DOJ Office of Inspector general and the FBI are looking into the matter. If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>A former federal prosecutor in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/florida\/\">Florida<\/a> has been indicted on charges that she secretly emailed herself sealed <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Justice Department<\/a> records tied to former special counsel <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jack-smith\/page\/2\/\">Jack Smith<\/a>\u2019s classified documents investigation into President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>, allegedly disguising the files as dessert recipes to avoid detection.<\/p>\n<p>Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, of Port St. Lucie, was charged in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-ndfl\/pr\/former-doj-attorney-indicted-concealment-theft-government-records\">newly unsealed federal indictment<\/a> with theft of government property, destruction or falsification of records in a federal investigation, and concealment or removal of public records. She pleaded not guilty during an arraignment on Wednesday in federal court in West Palm Beach.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4576622\/ken-paxton-win-maha-grocery-store-pesticides-organic-produce\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Paxton wins against grocery stores spraying pesticides on organic produce in appeal to MAHA<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4576432\/jan-6-officers-sue-anti-weaponization-fund-dunn-hodges\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Officers who defended Capitol on Jan. 6 sue DOJ over anti-weaponization fund<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4576491\/michael-caputo-first-claim-trump-anti-weaponization-fund\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Michael Caputo files first claim to Trump\u2019s anti-weaponization fund<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The seal of the Justice Department is pictured, Aug. 1, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>According to prosecutors, Lineberger was serving as the managing assistant U.S. attorney in the Fort Pierce branch of the Southern District of Florida when she accessed sensitive DOJ materials and transmitted them to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/andrew-cuomo-was-offered-more-than-4-million-for-pandemic-leadership-book-report-says\/\" title=\"Andrew Cuomo Was Offered More Than  Million For Pandemic \u2018Leadership\u2019 Book, Report Says\">personal email accounts<\/a> without authorization.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The indictment alleges she renamed confidential files with misleading titles, including \u201cchocolate cake recipe\u201d and \u201cbundt cake recipe,\u201d before emailing them to herself.<\/p>\n<p>Among the records allegedly transmitted was \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3295159\/aileen-cannon-blocks-doj-release-trump-classified-documents-report-congress\/\">Volume II Report<\/a>,\u201d the sealed final report prepared by Smith regarding Trump\u2019s alleged retention of classified documents at <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mar-a-lago\/\">Mar-a-Lago<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors said Lineberger received the report through her DOJ email account in January 2025 and later forwarded it to her personal Gmail account that December under the file name \u201cBundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The indictment further alleges that in September 2025, Lineberger compiled portions of an internal DOJ memorandum and sent messages from her government account to a personal Hotmail account with the subject line \u201cchocolate cake recipe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lineberger was not a member of Smith\u2019s special counsel team, but the U.S. attorney\u2019s office in South Florida assisted with portions of the investigation before and after Smith\u2019s appointment, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/steve-bannon-stares-down-elon-musk-with-plan-for-jeffrey-epstein-list\/\" title=\"Steve Bannon Stares Down Elon Musk with Plan for Jeffrey Epstein List\">including matters tied<\/a> to the FBI\u2019s 2022 raid of Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago estate.<\/p>\n<p>The case centers on materials that prosecutors say were subject to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >strict court-imposed secrecy protections<\/a>. U.S. District Judge <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2577228\/donald-trump-indicted-everything-to-know-about-judge-aileen-cannon-before-case-starts\/\">Aileen Cannon<\/a>, an appointee of Trump, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3295159\/aileen-cannon-blocks-doj-release-trump-classified-documents-report-congress\/\">issued an order in January 2025 prohibiting<\/a> DOJ personnel from \u201creleasing, sharing or transmitting\u201d the report outside the department while litigation surrounding the documents remained ongoing.<\/p>\n<p>In February 2026, Cannon <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4467511\/judge-permanently-blocks-release-trump-classified-documents-report\/\">separately blocked the public release<\/a> of Volume II, writing that it was \u201cnot customary\u201d for prosecutors to publicly release findings connected to a case that had already been dismissed. Cannon previously threw out the classified documents case against Trump, ruling that Smith\u2019s appointment <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3082471\/judge-dismisses-trump-classified-documents-case\/\">as special counsel was unconstitutional.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The indictment alleges Lineberger knew that transmitting the material outside the DOJ violated court orders and could interfere with the administration of the underlying prosecution.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4567524\/momentum-builds-bill-jack-smith-arctic-frost-subpoenas\/\">MOMENTUM BUILDS TO PASS BILL AFTER JACK SMITH\u2019S SECRET ARCTIC FROST SUBPOENAS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The DOJ\u2019s Office of Inspector General and the FBI are investigating the case.<\/p>\n<p>If convicted, Lineberger faces up to 20 years in prison on the falsification charge, up to three years for concealing or removing public records, and up to one year on each theft count.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florida prosecutor indicted for secretly emailing sealed DOJ records as dessert recipes to herself<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2605188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26022613481962.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[32673,80026,33211,46278,38823],"class_list":["post-2605185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-court-documents","tag-election-investigations","tag-legal-news","tag-public-corruption","tag-true-crime"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26022613481962.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2605185"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2605194,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605185\/revisions\/2605194"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2605188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2605185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2605185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2605185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}