This is a trip back on memory lane, to the raid on Mar-a-Lago as part of a case brought by Jack Smith asserting that Trump illegally retained classified records.
The case dominated the headlines both here and elsewhere. We even had our own Tag for our coverage: Mar-a-Lago Raid 2022.
I thought this was the most risky of the criminal cases brought against Trump because the others were legally flawed, but this one – if proven – had the potential for conviction, particularly on the claim that Trump tried to conceal documents that were subject to subpoena. “If proven” never happened both because the case was flawed as well as Trump winning the 2024 election which put an end to the prosecution. Later reports suggested the FBI Was Against Mar-a-Lago Raid, Argued With DOJ Prosecutors. The FBI report on the case was put under seal by the Judge who rejected requests to release it to the public.
I had long ago forgotten about the Mar-a-Lago raid and prosecution, until today.
FBI Director Kash Patel made a dramatic announcement on X today:
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.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. 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.
From the DOJ press release:
Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, of Port St. Lucie, has been 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. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the charges.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 personal email accounts. As to the DOJ report, the indictment further alleges the defendant acted knowing that her transmission of the record outside DOJ directly violated the court order and impaired the proper administration of the underlying criminal prosecution.Lineberger appeared in federal court today for her arraignment before Southern District of Florida Chief United States Magistrate Judge William Matthewman in West Palm Beach, Florida.If convicted, Lineberger faces up to twenty years’ imprisonment for destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations, three years’ imprisonment for concealment, removal, or mutilation of public records, and up to one year imprisonment on each count of theft of government property valued at less than $1,000.
The Indictment sets forth the details of the downloading and transmittal.
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