A former Justice Department attorney has been indicted for allegedly taking a sealed portion of the report prepared by former special counsel Jack Smith concerning the criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents. The indictment, unsealed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, accuses Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, then a managing Assistant U.S. Attorney in Fort Pierce, of copying the confidential volume of Smith’s report onto her government‑issued computer and disguising it under the filename “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf.”

According to the four‑count indictment, Lineberger transmitted the sealed file from her official DOJ email account to a personal Gmail address on Dec. 1, 2025. The charges include theft of government property and offenses related to the removal and alteration of public records. Lineberger, 62, appeared before a magistrate in Fort Pierce and was released without bail.

The case stems from a Jan. 21, 2025 order by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that barred the DOJ and its personnel from releasing, sharing, or transmitting Volume II of Smith’s report, which remains under seal. The indictment marks the first criminal charge linked to the handling of the classified‑documents investigation, which was previously dismissed by Judge Cannon in July 2024 after she ruled that Smith’s appointment violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause. While the DOJ initially appealed that dismissal, the effort was abandoned following Trump’s re‑election in November 2024, in accordance with a department policy that precludes prosecuting a sitting president.