A longtime federal prosecutor in the United States has been criminally charged after allegedly disguising confidential documents linked to investigations involving US President Donald Trump as dessert recipes before emailing them to her personal accounts.
The United States Department of Justice announced that veteran prosecutor Carmen Lineberger, 62, was indicted on Wednesday over allegations she violated a federal court order connected to Trump’s classified documents case.
According to prosecutors, Lineberger allegedly renamed sensitive files using titles such as “Chocolate_cake_recipe.pdf” and “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf” before sending them to her personal email accounts in late 2025.
Authorities claim the documents included internal Justice Department communications, confidential emails and the final report prepared by former special counsel Jack Smith regarding Trump’s classified documents investigation.
The report had previously been blocked from public release by US District Judge Aileen Cannon in January 2025.
Investigators allege the file names were deliberately altered to disguise the contents and avoid detection during records searches.
Because of the alleged concealment, Lineberger has been charged with destruction, alteration or falsification of records in a federal investigation — an offence carrying a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
She also faces additional charges involving theft of government property and concealment or removal of public records.
Kash Patel said the FBI would continue pursuing individuals accused of violating public trust.
“This FBI will not hesitate to bring to account those who violated the trust of the American public,” Patel said.
Although Lineberger reportedly did not work directly on Smith’s investigation team, she was serving as a senior managing assistant US attorney in South Florida at the time of the alleged offences.
Jack Smith had been appointed as special counsel in 2022 and later brought criminal charges against Trump over allegations involving classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago as well as efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
The classified documents case was dismissed in July 2024, while Smith later withdrew separate election-related charges following Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election.
In a January 2025 report, Smith reportedly claimed evidence gathered during the investigation would have been sufficient to secure a conviction had the case proceeded to trial.
Trump has consistently denied wrongdoing in both investigations and has repeatedly criticised Smith, accusing him of politically motivated actions.
Following the indictment, Trump wrote on social media that Smith and his associates “should all be prosecuted”.
Court documents state Lineberger allegedly downloaded one of Smith’s reports in December 2025 before renaming it “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf” and sending it to her personal Gmail account.
Prosecutors, however, did not accuse her of sharing the documents with outside parties.
Lineberger appeared in court on Wednesday and was released without bail.
Her lawyer declined to comment publicly regarding the charges.
The former prosecutor had spent nearly two decades working within the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and previously worked as a prosecutor in Philadelphia before joining the federal government.
Authorities said the case is now being handled by prosecutors from the Northern District of Florida to avoid possible conflicts of interest.
