Ex-DoJ prosecutor charged with sending sealed Jack Smith Trump report to personal email
The Guardian • • nation
Key Points:
- Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, a former DOJ prosecutor, is charged with felony theft and document alteration after emailing herself a sealed Biden-era investigative report on Donald Trump and renaming it as a cake recipe.
- The report, related to a federal criminal investigation and filed in the Southern District of Florida, was ordered sealed by Judge Aileen M. Cannon, who also barred DOJ special counsel Jack Smith from sharing findings on Trump.
- The investigation involved allegations against Trump regarding mishandling White House documents and obstructing the 2020 election, both dropped due to DOJ policy protecting sitting presidents.
- Prosecutors criticized Smith’s report in court filings, calling it the product of an unlawful investigation, while advocacy groups are seeking to unseal the document through appeals.
- Lineberger faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted, though her motives for sending the report to her personal email remain unclear.