DOJ prosecutor indicted for allegedly hiding Smith report under cake recipes
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Former Justice Department prosecutor Carmen Mercedes Lineberger was indicted for allegedly destroying classified Justice Department materials and then concealing her efforts. Lineberger is accused of secretly transferring former Special Prosecutor Jack Smith’s final report and hiding the material under files labeled “chocolate cake recipe” and “bundle cake recipe.” There hasn’t been a bigger recipe for disaster since aides tried to fit all of President Joe Biden’s candles on one cake. The case is particularly interesting because there was another person accused of secretly removing Justice Department materials who was not indicted: former FBI Director James Comey.
PortSt. Linebarger, 62, of St. Lucie, Fla., was charged with four felonies: one felony count of obstruction of justice, one felony count of concealing government records and two misdemeanor counts of theft of government property valued at less than $1,000.
according to indictmentLineberger altered electronic file names for government records to conceal unauthorized transfers of documents to personal email accounts and used file names for brownie recipes to conceal his possession of confidential information.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon blocked the public release of the report following the collapse of the investigation into President Donald Trump.
FORMER Justice Department Prosecutor Accused of STEALING JACK SMITH’S CONFIDENTIAL INVESTIGATION DOCUMENTS ABOUT TRUMP
Former special counsel Jack Smith testifies at a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 22, 2026. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
The Justice Department alleges that Lineberger received a copy of Smith’s report before the court signed it. Months later, he decided to transfer it to his personal email account, allegedly in violation of a court order and Justice Department rules.
He has now pleaded not guilty and faces up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction charge and other charges.
The decision is notable for several reasons.
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First, Smith made a final push to dismiss the case against Trump, leaving the door open for the investigation to continue. Smith moved to dismiss the indictment “without prejudice” and then emphasized to the court that the department had previously “noted the possibility that a court might equitably apply the statute of limitations to permit litigation against the President if the President leaves office.” In other words, Trump could be sued after he leaves office.
It is unknown what the purpose of this transfer is. One possibility would be to grab some kind of souvenir or trophy; This would be ironic, given Smith’s suggestion that Trump may have turned over classified material for the thrill of such appropriation. Another is the possible use of a book. Finally, there may be a desire to withhold evidence to prevent destruction or possible release to the media during the Trump years.
The second thing worth noting is that Comey was accused of knowingly dismissing him in this way, but was never actually tried.
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There was no court order regarding the material Comey removed after his firing, but it was clearly departmental material.
Inspector General Michael Horowitz found that Comey leaked information and violated FBI policy in his handling of the FBI memos. He discovered that Comey had obtained material containing the “code name and true identity” of a sensitive source as he was leaving the Bureau.
The Justice Department alleges that Lineberger received a copy of Smith’s report before the court signed it. Months later, he decided to transfer it to his personal email account, allegedly in violation of a court order and Justice Department rules.
While Horowitz did not find disclosure of classified information, he did find that Comey “disclosed without authorization sensitive investigative information obtained during his tenure at the FBI to achieve a personally desired outcome.” He also added that Comey “set a dangerous precedent for the more than 35,000 current FBI employees and thousands more former FBI employees who had access or similar access to nonpublic information.”
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Comey later admitted that he asked his friend, Columbia Law Professor Daniel Richman, to leak information from the documents to The New York Times.
While Comey is facing a weak criminal case Some of us viewed his action in removing this material as a more serious transgression because of the threats conveyed through beach artillery shells.
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Comey continued to write books on “ethical leadership” and recently told current FBI personnel that “even wait” and wait for Trump: “In two and a half years, then we can rebuild.”
Rebuilding the bureau in Comey’s image is a truly chilling idea. Those “good old days” with Comey allowed agents to launch a baseless Russian collusion investigation at the behest of the Clinton campaign and lie to a secret court to secure surveillance of Trump figures.
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By the way, the person who will appear before the jury due to the removal of classified material will be Lineberger, not Comey.
According to Lineberger, such charges remain straightforward for prosecutors if they can show that the material was restricted and that they took steps to conceal the alleged theft. While he gained access before the ruling, he allegedly transferred the material after the ruling and then hid the material in files labeled cake recipes. If these facts can be proven in court, prosecutors will likely believe they can stab him with a fork because he’s done.
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