On Thursday, a former IRS consultant pleaded guilty to leaking tax information about former President Trump and others to news outlets between 2018 and 2020.
According to the Justice Department, Charles Littlejohn, 38, leaked to news organisations the tax returns of “thousands of the nation’s wealthiest individuals” and tax information related to a “high-ranking government official” to a second news outlet. The complaint makes no mention of Trump.
On Thursday, he pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorised sharing of tax returns and return information.
Littlejohn “betrayed the public’s trust” by stealing confidential material, according to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
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“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,” Garland said in a statement. “In every case, the Department of Justice is committed to following the facts wherever they lead and holding accountable those who violate our laws.”
According to the Justice Department, Littlejohn viewed tax records on an IRS database and downloaded them on personal storage devices such as an iPod.
The Justice Department did not name the two news organisations to which Littlejohn released the information, but Fox News was told that they were the New York Times and Pro Publica, a nonprofit investigative journalism group based in New York City.
He will be sentenced on January 29, 2024, and might face up to five years in prison.
