Ex-IRS employee faces jail for leaking Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos information

According to NBC News, federal prosecutors have sought the maximum sentence against Charles Edward Littlejohn, a 38-year-old former IRS contractor who pleaded guilty to leaking Donald Trump’s tax returns without authorization.

He could face up to five years in prison.

Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence a former IRS contractor to five years in prison for leaking the tax records of former President Trump and other wealthy Americans to the media. https://t.co/XYX8gKS2Qq

— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 17, 2024

Littlejohn admitted to disclosing confidential financial information about former US President Donald Trump, in addition to the financial information of several thousand wealthy Americans. He is accused of accessing an IRS database and stealing the private tax information of prominent figures, a notable breach of IRS security.

Between August and October 2019, Littlejohn allegedly transferred confidential data to several storage devices, then provided this information anonymously to the media, including The New York Times.

Recall that the New York Times published several articles based on this stolen data revealing, among other things, that Trump had paid just $750 in federal income tax in 2016 and 2017, while another article detailed the tax avoidance tactics of several billionaires, including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

Court documents indicate that Littlejohn took significant steps to destroy evidence in anticipation of an upcoming investigation, and these revelations would have increased the seriousness of his offense. Prosecutors are seeking a 5-year prison sentence, whereas a plea agreement initially recommended a maximum sentence of 14 months’ imprisonment.

Littlejohn will appear before U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes in Washington, D.C., on January 29.