Charles E. Littlejohn (born 1985) is a former IRS contractor who is known for leaking tax records from Donald J. Trump and other wealthy individuals, in what has been called the largest data breach in IRS history.
Leaks
editLittlejohn's first leak of IRS data targeted 15 years of Donald Trump's tax returns, which he shared with the New York Times.[1] The story, released in September 2020, exposed that Trump had paid only $750 in federal income taxes in both 2016 and 2017, and in most years paid no federal income tax due to losing more money than he made.[2]
Littlejohn next targeted 15 years of tax records belonging to approximately 7,600 of the highest net worth individuals in the United States. He chose to share the data with ProPublica due to previous reporting in 2018 on inequity of IRS scrutiny. The news agency released a series utilizing the data in June 2021.[3][4]
Legal proceedings
editIn October 2023, Littlejohn plead guilty to the unauthorized disclosures of income tax returns. Judge Ana C. Reyes described his actions as "a threat to our democracy," and made comparisons to the January 6 United States Capitol attack. Reyes sentenced him to the maximum 5 years in prison.[5]
References
edit- ^ Legare, Robert (January 29, 2024). "Ex-IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn, who admitted leaking Trump's tax records, sentenced to 5 years in prison". CBS.
- ^ Buettner, Russ; Craig, Susanne; McIntire, Mike (27 September 2020). "Trump's Taxes Show Chronic Losses and Years of Income Tax Avoidance". The New York Times.
- ^ Phillips, Nicholas (21 October 2024). "The St. Louis native who leaked Trump's tax returns". STL Mag.
- ^ Ernsthausen, Jeff; Kiel, Paul; Eisinger, Jesse (7 December 2021). "These Real Estate and Oil Tycoons Avoided Paying Taxes for Years". ProPublica.
- ^ Lybrand, Holmes (2024-01-29). "Charles Littlejohn: Man who stole and leaked Trump tax records sentenced to 5 years in prison | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved 2024-10-22.