Justice Department Charges Former Prosecutor With Stealing Sealed Trump Report

The Department of Justice charged a former federal prosecutor this week with stealing a sealed report on President Trump's classified documents case. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ordered the report sealed in January 2025 and later issued a permanent restriction on its release.

The election-related portions of Smith's work were released earlier, but the classified documents section stayed under court control.

The former prosecutor, identified as Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, was indicted on two counts of theft of government property, one count of destruction or falsification of government records, and one count of concealment or removal of public records. She was arraigned Wednesday and entered a not guilty plea.

“A senior Justice Department prosecutor was charged Wednesday with sending herself a copy of former Special Counsel Jack Smith's report on President Trump." — Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times, May 20, 2026 The indictment does not specify what, if anything, Lineberger planned to do with the documents. Her attorney declined to comment when contacted by reporters.”

Smith charged President Trump in 2023 with retaining sensitive government documents and obstructing the investigation. Judge Cannon dismissed the case in 2024 after ruling that Smith was not properly appointed as special counsel. The Trump administration has continued efforts to keep the report from public release.