Opinion

JONATHAN TURLEY: Former prosecutor accused of stealing files and hiding them as recipes

Lineberger faces four criminal charges tied to allegedly taking Jack Smith's sealed report

By Jonathan Turley Fox News

Published May 21, 2026 1:04pm EDT

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Former Justice Department prosecutor Carmen Mercedes Lineberger has been indicted for allegedly removing confidential Justice Department material and then concealing her efforts. Lineberger is accused of secretly transferring former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s final report and hiding the material under files labeled "chocolate cake recipe" and "bundt cake recipe." There has not been a greater recipe for disaster since aides tried to fit all of President Joe Biden’s candles on a cake. The case is particularly interesting because there was another person who was accused of a secret removal of Justice Department material who was not prosecuted: former FBI Director James Comey.

Linebarger, 62, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., has been indicted on four criminal charges: one felony count of obstruction of justice, one felony count of concealing government records and two misdemeanor counts of theft of government property valued at less than $1,000.

According to the indictment, Lineberger altered electronic file names of government records to conceal unauthorized transmissions of the documents to her personal email accounts and used file names for cake recipes to conceal her possession of the confidential information.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon blocked the public release of the report after the prosecution collapsed against President Donald Trump.

FORMER DOJ PROSECUTOR CHARGED WITH STEALING CONFIDENTIAL JACK SMITH INVESTIGATION DOCUMENTS ABOUT TRUMP

Former special counsel Jack Smith testifies during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn........

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