The Department of Justice charged one of its former prosecutors after she allegedly tried to steal a sealed report about an investigation into President Donald Trump by disguising it as a cake recipe.
According to reporting by Politico, the DOJ is accusing Carmen Lineberger, 62, of trying to send herself copies of an unreleased volume of special counsel Jack Smith's report on his investigation into Trump.
Smith's report examines the investigation of classified documents that were present at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.
"The indictment returned Tuesday says Lineberger sought to cover her tracks by using the file names 'Chocolate_Cake_Recipe.pdf' and 'Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf,'" Politico reported.
According to the indictment, Lineberger received copies of the Jack Smith report in January 2025. At the time, she was the managing assistant U.S. attorney of the Fort Pierce branch of the Southern District of Florida.
She allegedly downloaded the report to her computer account and months later emailed it to her personal email accounts, per the indictment.
The report disguised as a chocolate cake recipe was sent to her personal Hotmail account in September. She then sent the report to her Gmail account in December, this time calling it a bundt cake recipe.
In a federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, Lineberger pleaded not guilty to charges related to stealing and concealing government records, including one felony count of obstruction of justice, and she was released on her own recognizance, according to court records.
"The maximum sentence if convicted on all charges is 25 years in prison," according to Politico. "Although federal defendants typically receive significantly shorter terms under federal sentencing guidelines."
