TL/DR –
Former IRS contractor, Charles Edward Littlejohn, was sentenced to five years in prison for leaking the tax information of former President Donald Trump and thousands of wealthy individuals to news outlets between 2018 and 2020. Judge Ana Reyes handed down the maximum sentence, citing the crime’s attack on the US system of government and democracy. Littlejohn, who stated his actions came from a misguided belief he was serving public interest, also received three years of supervised release and a $5,000 fine.
Former IRS Contractor Sentenced for Leaking Tax Information
A former contractor for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), known as Charles Edward Littlejohn, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty for leaking tax information about the previous US President, Donald Trump, and numerous wealthy individuals in the country.
Littlejohn, aged 38 and based in Washington, D.C., disclosed data to The New York Times and ProPublica between 2018 and 2020. Prosecutors described these leaks as possibly “unprecedented in IRS’s history.”
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes handed out the maximum sentence, stating that the crime attacked the system of governance and democracy of the nation. “When you target the sitting president of the United States, you target the office. It cannot be open season on our elected officials\”, she said.
Littlejohn expressed remorse, acknowledging his sole responsibility for his actions. He stated his actions were borne out of a misguided belief that he was serving public interest.
Judge Reyes questioned why Littlejohn was only charged with a single felony count of unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and return information. Alongside the prison sentence, she also imposed three years of supervised release and a $5,000 fine.
Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida confirmed he was among those whose tax data was leaked by Littlejohn. He expressed concern over the potential publishing of this information and its impact on his family, suggesting additional criminal charges should have been brought against Littlejohn for exposing personal data.
According to court documents, Littlejohn strategically plotted how to search and extract tax data without raising suspicions internally. Prosecutors pushed for the five-year sentence to serve as a deterrent for similar future offenses.
The Justice Department has not named the media outlets in the charges but the description and timeline correspond with stories about Trump’s tax returns published by The New York Times and ProPublica.
The report published by The New York Times in 2020 found that Trump paid minimal federal income tax in the year he assumed office and no income tax in some years due to significant losses. ProPublica reported in 2021 revealing that the top 25 richest Americans legally pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than many regular workers do.
In response to the incident, the IRS has tightened security, stating that any disclosure of taxpayer information is unacceptable.
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