A former federal prosecutor is facing criminal charges after she allegedly emailed herself a report tied to Jack Smith’s investigation into President Trump’s handling of classified documents, NPR reported Wednesday, May 21.
The charges stem from what authorities describe as an unauthorized transfer — the ex-prosecutor sending the sensitive report to her own personal email account. That’s it. One email, and now she’s staring down a federal case.
The investigation
Smith’s probe into Trump’s retention of classified materials after leaving office drew enormous attention before it was wound down. The report at the center of this new case apparently contained details from that investigation, though NPR didn’t specify exactly what the document covered or when the alleged email was sent.
How the transfer was discovered hasn’t been disclosed publicly either. Federal agencies routinely monitor internal communications for unauthorized disclosures — especially when national security material is involved.
What’s at stake
The former prosecutor’s name wasn’t included in NPR’s initial reporting, and the specific charges she faces haven’t been detailed beyond the allegation of sending the report to a personal account. That gap matters. Whether prosecutors treat this as a mishandling charge or something more serious could depend on the classification level of the document and whether it was shared beyond her inbox.
Cases involving the mishandling of sensitive government materials have become deeply politicized in recent years. Trump himself faced scrutiny over classified documents stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida — the very conduct Smith’s team had been investigating.
The former prosecutor’s legal team hasn’t commented publicly, and it isn’t clear whether she’s entered a plea or appeared in court yet. NPR didn’t report which federal district is handling the prosecution.
A court date hasn’t been announced.
NPR reported this story on May 21, 2026. Read the original report.
