Criminal Justice
Former DOJ prosecutor charged with allegedly stealing copies of classified report on Trump documents case
A 2022 photo of documents from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, submitted as evidence by the Department of Justice in federal court in Florida. (Image from the Department of Justice)
A former prosecutor for the Department of Justice has been indicted for allegedly sending herself copies of former special counsel Jack Smith’s report on his investigation into President Donald Trump and classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
During a hearing in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, Carmen Lineberger, who had worked in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of Florida, entered a not guilty plea to four charges related to stealing and concealing government records. She was released on her own recognizance, according to stories by Politico and Reuters.
According to the indictment returned Tuesday, Lineberger was the managing assistant U.S. attorney in Fort Pierce, Florida, last year when she sent to her personal email accounts a copy of the Smith report, along with other internal DOJ memos.
Lineberger tried to cover her tracks by naming the files containing the government records “Chocolate_ Cake_Recipe.pdf” and “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf,” the indictment alleges.
Lineberger was charged with one felony count of obstruction of justice, one felony count of concealing government records and two misdemeanor counts of stealing government property valued at under $1,000. The maximum sentence if she’s convicted on all charges is 25 years in prison, according to a May 20 press release from the DOJ.
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