Former DOJ prosecutor charged with stealing confidential documents from Jack Smith's Trump investigation

A former federal administrative prosecutor linked to special prosecutor Jack Smith's investigation into President Donald Trump was formally charged for allegedly misappropriating and tampering with internal Justice Department documents, including files related to a confidential criminal prosecution in the Southern District of Florida.

The Justice Department reported that Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, of Port St. Lucie, faces two counts of theft of money or government property valued at less than $1,000, in addition to charges of destroying, altering or falsifying records in federal investigations and concealing, removing or mutilating public records. The charges were announced by John P. Heekin, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

According to the indictment, Lineberger was working as an administrative assistant United States attorney (MAUSA) in the Fort Pierce office of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at the time of the events. Authorities allege that, in late 2025, she altered names of electronic files belonging to the government to hide the unauthorized sending of official documents to personal email accounts.

Among the records involved were excerpts of internal Justice Department communications, an internal memorandum and a report related to a criminal prosecution in the Southern District of Florida whose disclosure outside the Justice Department was prohibited by court order.

The indictment also states that the former administrative prosecutor saved electronic copies of the documents using misleading file names such as "chocolate cake recipe" and "Bundt cake recipe" before sending them to her personal emails. In the case of the confidential court report, prosecutors contend Lineberger knew that transmitting the document directly violated the court order and affected the proper conduct of the criminal proceedings..