A groundbreaking case, Charles Littlejohn, a former Internal Revenue Service (IRS) contractor, has been sentenced to five years in prison for leaking tax documents, including those of former President Donald J. Trump. The 38-year-old, known as Chaz, worked for the IRS from 2017 to 2021 and was accused of stealing the tax records of thousands of the nation’s wealthiest individuals.
Littlejohn’s actions were described by prosecutors as “unparalleled in the IRS’s history.” He provided the pilfered information to The New York Times and ProPublica, raising questions about the security of sensitive tax data and sparking debates on transparency.
The former contractor pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized disclosure of tax return information last year. Along with the hefty five-year prison sentence, he was also handed three years of supervised release, 300 hours of community service, and a $5,000 fine. This marks one of the most significant penalties in a federal leak investigation.
Nicole M. Argentieri, the acting assistant attorney general overseeing the Justice Department’s criminal division, emphasized the gravity of Littlejohn’s actions, stating, “Today’s sentence sends a strong message that those who violate laws intended to protect sensitive tax information will face significant punishment.”
The repercussions of Littlejohn’s disclosures were deemed “so extensive and ongoing that it is impossible to quantify,” according to prosecutors. The incident has rekindled concerns about the security of tax information and its potential misuse.
Of particular note is the fact that Mr. Trump had refused to disclose his tax returns, becoming the first president since the 1970s to do so. The public’s interest in understanding his wealth and business practices was so intense that the IRS commissioner ordered Trump’s filings to be secured in a special vault.
Littlejohn’s intricate plan to obtain Trump’s tax records began in 2017 when he sought employment with the IRS once again. Prosecutors assert that he “weaponized his access to unmasked taxpayer data to further his own personal, political agenda, believing that he was above the law.”
The leaked information, which included details about Trump’s federal income taxes, led to significant revelations. In 2020, The New York Times reported that Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and had not paid any income taxes in 10 of the previous 15 years. In 2021, ProPublica exposed how the 25 wealthiest Americans, including Jeff Bezos, Michael R. Bloomberg, and Elon Musk, paid relatively little in federal income taxes, reigniting calls for a wealth tax by Democrats.
Senator Rick Scott, a Florida Republican included in ProPublica’s reporting, claimed to be among the “thousands of American taxpayers” subjected to “partisan abuse” by Littlejohn. However, a lawyer for Littlejohn, Lisa Manning, argued in a sentencing memo that her client’s actions were not self-serving. She claimed that he committed the offense based on 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.”
The disclosures have also reignited accusations that the IRS acts with political motivation, a claim agency officials have consistently refuted. In late 2022, House Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee released six years of Trump’s tax returns after a lengthy legal battle, shedding light on a contentious issue that continues to shape discussions around tax transparency and accountability.