if
you
store
documents
like
this,
you’re
fine!
Kash
Patel
took
a
break
from
polygraphing
everyone
in
his
field
of
vision
to
find
out
who
keeps
telling
journalists
about
his
drinking
to
triumphantly
announce
that
the
Justice
Department
secured
an
indictment
of
a
former
DOJ
lawyer
for
“allegedly
emailed
the
confidential
material
to
her
own
personal
email.”
The
“confidential
material”
in
question
is
the
still
secret
portions
of
Jack
Smith’s
report
detailing
criminal
activity
by
Donald
Trump
that
the
DOJ
concluded
would
support
conviction
at
trial.
Patel
apparently
didn’t
want
to
get
too
specific
about
what
this
is
all
about.
Carmen
Mercedes
Lineberger,
62,
served
as
the
managing
Assistant
U.S.
Attorney
running
the
Fort
Pierce
branch
of
the
Southern
District
of
Florida.
The
indictment
alleges
that
Lineberger
emailed
a
copy
of
the
report
to
her
personal
email
account
under
the
title
“Fw:
Bundt_Cake
_Recipe.pdf.”
She
also
allegedly
compiled
internal
DOJ
correspondence
about
the
investigation
into
a
chocolate
cake
recipe.
Taking
secret
government
documents
and
keeping
them
in
personal
custody
despite
no
longer
having
a
legal
right
to
them?
It’s
almost
as
if
that’s
the
exact
behavior
the
underlying
report
is
about.
Except,
of
course,
the
report
is
about
Trump
stealing
highly
classified
materials
instead
of
a
taxpayer-funded
report
that
is
only
secret
because
Judge
Aileen
Cannon
ordered
the
report
suppressed
as
heresy
against
Donald
Trump.
Technically,
her
ruling
was
that
releasing
the
report
would
constitute
a
“manifest
injustice”
to
Trump
since
Cannon
ruled
that
Jack
Smith
was
illegally
appointed
based
on…
well,
nothing
coherent
actually.[1]
And
now
Trump’s
DOJ
is
bringing
a
federal
criminal
case
to
enforce
Cannon’s
coverup.
Makes
you
wonder
just
how
bad
this
report
must
be!
The
four-count
indictment
charging
her
with
theft
of
government
property,
concealment
of
a
public
record,
and
altering
a
record
in
a
federal
investigation.
The
indictment
does
not
allege
she
sent
Volume
II
to
anyone
outside
DOJ
—
no
journalist,
no
co-conspirator,
no
foreign
power.
So
it’s
an
entire
federal
case
is
built
on
a
lawyer
emailing
herself
a
PDF.
The
marquee
theft
count
runs
under
18
U.S.C.
§
641,
the
“theft
of
government
property”
statute,
here
charged
on
the
theory
that
she
stole
government
information.
Journalist
Marcy
Wheeler
put
the
question
to
legal
experts
directly,
asking
about
the
legal
problems
with
invoking
§
641.
National
security
lawyer
Bradley
P.
Moss
noted
that
it
is
literally
in
the
DOJ
manual
not
to
bring
these
cases.
Moss
noted
that
the
DOJ
might
try
to
justify
an
exception
on
the
grounds
that
the
report
might
contain
classified
material
—
which,
if
true,
would
only
highlight
again
that
the
report
alleges
that
Trump
actually
stole
classified
information.
If
the
report
has
classified
material
in
it,
that
might
make
the
Bundt
cake
misadventure
more
serious…
but
also
sort
of
proves
the
point
of
Smith’s
case.
However,
the
DOJ
likely
isn’t
spending
that
much
time
and
effort
coming
up
with
colorable
exceptions.
I’m
pretty
sure
the
manual
doesn’t
have
a
section
on
creating
nearly
$2
billion
worth
of
slush
fund
money
to
compensate
convicted
insurrectionists
either.
The
DOJ
manual
is
at
best
a
suggestion
box
these
days.[2]
The
theft
counts
aren’t
nearly
as
serious
as
the
DOJ
hype
machine
implies.
AlterNet
cites
a
retired
federal
appeals
lawyer
who
pointed
out
that
without
an
express
allegation
that
the
value
of
the
stolen
property
exceeded
$1,000,
a
§
641
offense
is
a
misdemeanor.
The
indictment
itself
CONCEDES
this,
with
the
penalty
sheet
listing
the
theft
counts
as
“valued
less
than
$1,000.00.”
So
two
of
the
four
counts
are
misdemeanors.
The
most
serious
charge
is
the
§
1519
obstruction
count,
which
makes
it
a
crime
to
alter,
destroy,
mutilate,
conceal,
or
cover
up
a
record
in
a
federal
investigation.
But
the
only
concealing
or
covering
up
in
this
case
is
coming
from
Aileen
Cannon
and
her
co-conspirators
at
the
DOJ.
Based
on
the
indictment,
there’s
nothing
to
suggest
Lineberger
did
anything
to
the
report
other
than
possess
it.
Is
the
DOJ
arguing
that
Lineberger
tried
to
cover
up…
the
cover
up?
In
any
event,
even
if
the
government
cleared
that
hurdle,
the
statute
adds
the
extra
requirement
that
the
government
prove
the
defendant
took
the
action
with
intent
to
obstruct
the
administration
of
Cannon’s
order.
But
Cannon’s
order
seems
to
have
held
just
fine
for
months
and
months.
What
could
possibly
be
the
motive
in
this
case
if
prosecutors
don’t
allege
that
Lineberger
took
this
report
with
the
intent
to
spill
it
to
the
papers
or
undermine
an
ongoing
proceeding?
Well,
it’s
somewhat
fitting
that
this
case
dropped
this
week,
when
a
federal
judge
just
had
to
order
the
Trump
administration
not
to
illegally
destroy
documents.
Whatever
copies
of
this
report
remained
within
the
control
of
the
DOJ
are
most
likely
gone.
If
Lineberger
actually
took
this
report,
she
may
well
have
just
been
hoping
to
save
it
from
the
pyre.
And
if
that’s
the
motivation,
it’s
not
obstruction.
Throwing
possible
20-year
sentences
at
a
violation
that
amounts
to
a
misdemeanor
at
best
doesn’t
make
a
lot
of
sense
until
it’s
placed
in
the
proper
context.
This
report
is,
it
would
seem,
incredibly
damning.
And
the
Trump
administration
does
not
know
how
many
extant
copies
of
it
are
out
there
in
the
wild.
The
DOJ
wants
to
send
the
message
that
they’ll
make
life
miserable
—
up
to
and
including
filing
charges
they
obviously
can’t
support
—
if
anyone
still
has
a
copy.
(Read
the
indictment
on
the
nextpage…)
[1]:
Of
note,
Trump
ally
Joe
diGenova
is
now
reportedly
running
a
grand
jury
in
Cannon’s
district
to
go
after
Trump’s
enemies
with
the
exact
same
authority
Smith
had
—
surely
Cannon
will
slap
him
down
as
illegally
appointed
if
he
ever
comes
before
her.
[Pause
for
laughter.]
[2]:
By
the
way,
Todd
Blanche
threw
his
name
into
the
signature
block
on
this
indictment,
even
though
he
worked
on
the
Trump
defense
team
during
the
underlying
case.
And
he’s
taking
a
direct
role
in
prosecuting
someone
for
possessing
a
summary
of
the
evidence
against
his
client.
That
seems…
of
some
ethical
moment,
no?
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
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if
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