Ex-IRS Contractor Receives 5 Year Prison Sentence For Leaking Donald Trump's Tax Records
The ex-Internal Revenue Service (IRS) contractor responsible for the unauthorized disclosure of tax records belonging to former President Donald Trump and other prominent billionaires including Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk has been sentenced to a five-year prison term.
Prosecutors argue that Charles Littlejohn, who plead guilty in October to one count of taking tax return information without authoritzation, "abused his position" by illicitly disclosing thousands of Americans' federal tax returns and other private financial details to 'The New York Times' and ProPublica in 2019 and 2020.
They assert that Littlejohn "weaponized his access to unmasked taxpayer data" to advance his personal and political agenda, displaying what they say was a belief that he operated above the law.
During a Monday hearing at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes handed down the sentence, plus a $5,000 fine.
"You can be an outstanding person and commit bad acts," Judge Reyes said. "What you did in targeting the sitting president of the United States was an attack on our constitutional democracy."
Littlejohn's defense attorney, Lisa Manning, presented an argument asserting that the defendant's actions were rooted in a "deep, moral belief that the American people had a right to know the information and sharing it was the only way to effect change." It was contended that Littlejohn genuinely believed he was acting in the best interests of the public at the time.
In a brief statement to the court preceding his sentencing, Littlejohn, 38, expressed that he "acted out of a sincere but misguided belief that I was serving the public." He asserted that taxpayers deserved to be informed about what he called the ease with which the wealthy could evade contributing to the system.
Littlejohn, who grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, acknowledged the consequences of his actions, stating, "I made my decision with the full knowledge that I would likely end up in a courtroom."
"He has very deep remorse, he has deep remorse for the victims," Manning told Judge Reyes. "And if he would, he would take it back."
