Last month federal prosecutors charged a former IRS contractor who worked for the agency from 2018 to 2020 for unlawfully obtaining and disseminating the tax details of a high-ranking public official and numerous affluent Americans to media outlets.
According to court documents and an official press release from the Department of Justice, Charles Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, D.C., stole tax return information associated with a high-ranking government official, referred to as Public Official A. He then disclosed this information to a news organization identified as News Organization 1.
A source familiar with the matter informed CNN that the unnamed official mentioned in the legal documents is former President Donald Trump.
Littlejohn reportedly stole IRS information on thousands of wealthy people. The stolen information was then disseminated to two news outlets.
“In July and August 2020, Littlejohn separately stole tax return information for thousands of the nation’s wealthiest individuals. Littlejohn was again able to evade IRS detection. In November 2020, Littlejohn disclosed this tax return information to News Organization 2, which published over 50 articles using the stolen data. Littlejohn then obstructed the forthcoming investigation into his conduct by deleting and destroying evidence of his disclosures.” the DOJ said.
According to the Justice Department, Littlejohn pleaded guilty to leaking Trump’s tax returns.
“An IRS contractor, Charles Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to disclosing tax return information without authorization.” the DOJ said in a press release.
“By using his role as a government contractor to gain access to private tax information, steal that information, and disclose it publicly, Charles Littlejohn broke federal law and betrayed the public’s trust,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “In every case, the Department of Justice is committed to following the facts wherever they lead and holding accountable those who violate our laws.”
“The unauthorized theft and disclosure of tax return information by government employees or contractors is a serious breach of the public’s trust,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Department will hold accountable those who illegally exploit their access to sensitive personal information.”
