DOJ scrambles after accidentally releasing sealed Jack Smith report on Trump

Source: Raw Story

July 2, 2026 11:59AM ET


The Justice Department accidentally released former special counsel Jack Smith's sealed report on President Donald Trump to lawyers for the former prosecutor accused of stealing it.

Volume II includes Jack Smith's evidence in his case to prove Trump mishandled classified documents after leaving office — the report Trump has fought to keep secret. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump-appointed judge who dismissed the underlying case, has barred the Justice Department from releasing it outside the department.

Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, a former Fort Pierce federal prosecutor, is charged with emailing herself a copy of Volume II disguised as a cake recipe. On Thursday, the Justice Department did damage control after mistakenly sending a copy to her defense lawyers.

The Justice Department transmission to Lineberger's lawyers included flash drives sent on June 3, per a joint notice filed with Cannon. Six days later, her lawyers found Volume II embedded in the files. "Upon review, the Government confirmed the documents in question were copies of the Volume II Report that were embedded within electronic messages required to be produced in discovery," the filing said.

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