A former contractor for the Internal Revenue Service has pleaded guilty to leaking tax information to news outlets about former President Donald Trump and the country’s wealthiest individuals.
Charged by The Justice Department, Charles Edward Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, D.C., was accused of stealing tax return information and providing it to two news outlets from 2018 to 2020.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes expressed deep concern over Littlejohn’s actions, which impacted Trump and numerous others. She stated, “When individuals take the law into their own hands for any reason, society cannot function properly. Let there be no doubt, this was unacceptable. If anyone claims that the ends justify the means, they are mistaken.”
Littlejohn pleaded guilty to unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and return information. The offense carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, but the judge will determine the final sentence. Alina Habba, Trump’s attorney, objected to the plea deal and called for a lengthy sentence. Littlejohn’s sentencing is scheduled for January 29.
Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that Littlejohn “violated federal law and betrayed the trust of the public.”
Defense attorney Lisa Manning declined to provide a comment.
The news outlets involved were not named in the charges, but their descriptions and timelines match stories about Trump’s tax returns in The New York Times and reports on wealthy Americans’ taxes by the nonprofit investigative journalism organization ProPublica.
In a 2020 report, The New York Times revealed that Trump paid only $750 in federal income tax the year he took office and did not pay any income tax in certain years due to substantial losses. Eventually, the House Ways and Means Committee, which was controlled by Democrats at the time, released six years of Trump’s tax returns.
In 2021, ProPublica reported on a collection of tax-return data concerning the wealthiest Americans, exposing that the top 25 richest individuals paid a smaller percentage of their income in taxes than many ordinary workers.
Both publications have declined to comment on the charges, and ProPublica reporters have stated that they do not know the identity of the source. The articles prompted calls for tax reform for the wealthy and investigations into the unauthorized leaking of tax information, which is protected by specific laws.
The IRS has stated that any disclosure of taxpayer information is unacceptable, and the agency has since strengthened its security measures.
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