Kash Patel announced Wednesday that a former Department of Justice prosecutor who worked on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Trump has been criminally charged for allegedly stealing and concealing confidential government documents.

According to Patel, former federal prosecutor Carmen Lineberger is accused of secretly sending sensitive investigative materials to her personal email accounts while disguising the files under recipe-themed names in an attempt to avoid detection.

“This afternoon, a former managing assistant U.S. Attorney who supported Jack Smith’s politicized investigation of President Trump has been charged with stealing the confidential investigation documents,” Patel said.

“Carmen Lineberger allegedly emailed the confidential material to her own personal email, disguising them as dessert recipes to conceal them from record searches. Lineberger is charged with four felony counts in the indictment.”

The charges were formally announced in a press release issued by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.

According to prosecutors, Lineberger previously served as the Managing Assistant United States Attorney for the Fort Pierce branch office within the Southern District of Florida. Federal authorities allege she unlawfully transmitted internal DOJ records and then attempted to hide the activity by altering file names.

The press release states that Lineberger was “indicted in federal court for two counts of theft of government money or property, valued less than $1,000.00; destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations; and concealment, removal, or mutilation of public records.”

Prosecutors claim the alleged conduct occurred during multiple incidents in late 2025 while Lineberger was still serving in her official DOJ position.

“The indictment alleges at the time of the offenses the defendant served as the Managing Assistant United States Attorney (MAUSA) of the Fort Pierce branch of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. In separate instances in late-2025, the defendant altered the electronic file names of government records that she received in her official capacity as the MAUSA in order to conceal her unauthorized electronic transmission of those records to personal email accounts belonging to her without being detected. The altered government records included a document compiled by the defendant consisting of portions of internal DOJ electronic messages and an internal DOJ memorandum, and a DOJ report related to a criminal prosecution in the SDFL that had been court-ordered to remain under seal and prohibited from distribution or disclosure outside of DOJ.

“As alleged in the indictment, the defendant concealed her actions by saving electronic copies of the government records in question under the misleading files names “chocolate cake recipe” and “bundt cake recipe” before electronically transmitting those records to her person email accounts. As to the DOJ report, the indictment further alleges the defendant act knowing that her transmission of the record outside DOJ directly violated the court order and impaired the proper administration of the underlying criminal prosecution.”

Patel used the announcement to sharply criticize the original Trump investigation and vowed continued accountability for officials involved.

“This FBI will not hesitate to bring to account those who violated the trust of the American public in an investigation that should’ve never been brought to begin with,” Patel added in his post.

CNN separately reported that Lineberger is also facing “two felony charges related to her handling of Volume II of Smith’s final report, which detailed Smith’s findings that Trump and two co-defendants who worked for him in 2021 mishandled national security documents.”

{Matzav.com}