Volume II – Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, a former supervisory attorney in the Southern District of Florida, was charged with theft of government property after prosecutors say she emailed herself confidential Justice Department records from special counsel Jack Smith’s inv
By Wednesday, the story had already moved past the courtroom and into something darker: the idea that the “most sought-after” documents in Jack Smith’s Trump investigation weren’t kept secure— they were traded like a secret menu.
Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, a former managing assistant US attorney in the Southern District of Florida, was charged with two counts of theft of government money or property, valued less than $1,000. She entered a plea of not guilty on Wednesday.
The charges focus on how prosecutors say she obtained and handled confidential Justice Department materials related to Smith’s investigation of President Donald Trump—materials that prosecutors describe as “Volume II Report. ” the final finding in the special counsel’s probe into Trump and his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Prosecutors allege Lineberger received an email in January 2025 on her Justice Department account that contained copies of the “Volume II Report.” She held a supervisory role in the Southern District of Florida US Attorney’s Office in Fort Pierce during the time of the investigation and Trump’s prosecution.
She was not part of the special counsel team. Even so, the US Attorney’s Office played a supporting role to parts of Smith’s work, including actions taken before the special counsel was appointed. Those included the search of Trump’s personal area of his Mar-a-Lago resort in 2022.
In the Justice Department’s account, Lineberger’s alleged misconduct didn’t stop at receiving the report. Prosecutors say that in September 2025. she compiled portions of an internal DOJ memorandum and transmitted messages she received on her government email account to her personal Hotmail account. The subject line, prosecutors say, was “chocolate cake recipe.”.
Then came the second step. Lineberger is also accused of accessing the email she received earlier in the year with the “Volume II Report” in December 2025 and sharing it to her personal Gmail account. Prosecutors say she renamed the file “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf.”
The court fight over the report itself had already been shaping the legal landscape for months before the charge.
District Judge Aileen Cannon barred the release of Volume II in February 2026. In a 15-page ruling. Cannon wrote that it was “not customary” for a prosecutor to release findings publicly for a case that was dismissed. Cannon had tossed the case against Trump before he was re-elected to a second term. citing that the appointment of Smith as a special counsel was unconstitutional.
The indictment ties that history to specific restrictions. It says Cannon issued an order in January 2025 regarding the report that prohibited any Justice Department official from “releasing, sharing or transmitting” the report outside of the department.
Lineberger’s alleged actions also collide with the positions taken by Trump’s legal team and others tied to the classified documents case. Top Trump Justice Department officials—who were Trump’s personal attorneys on the classified documents case—as well as lawyers for his two codefendants. argued that Smith’s filings should never be released and were invalid.
If convicted, Lineberger could face up to 20 years in prison.
The timeline in the indictment reads like a question that won’t stop getting louder: first. an internal Justice Department email in January 2025 bringing the “Volume II Report” to a supervisory prosecutor’s account; then. later efforts to move parts of internal materials to a personal Hotmail inbox under a dessert-themed subject; and. in December 2025. a shift to personal Gmail with the report renamed as a cake recipe—despite an order barring the report’s release. sharing. or transmission outside the department.
Carmen Mercedes Lineberger Florida prosecutor theft of government property Jack Smith investigation Volume II Report Donald Trump Mar-a-Lago search Aileen Cannon Hotmail Gmail Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf
Dessert?? Like she emailed it on purpose like cookies or what lol
So she just forwarded herself “Volume II” and that’s it? Sounds like they’re making a big deal out of an email, but confidential documents is still bad.
Wait, I thought Jack Smith leaked it? Now it’s her? This story is confusing because everyone keeps saying different versions online. If she wasn’t on the special counsel team then why are we even talking about her like that?
“Most sought-after documents traded like a secret menu” is wild wording. But also—how does someone get classified stuff through email and just chill? Like can’t they trace the attachment? And theft property valued under $1k seems kinda low compared to what they’re implying, unless they’re counting it weird.