Charles Littlejohn, a former contractor for the Internal Revenue Service, has been sentenced to five years in prison for leaking former President Donald Trump's tax records to the press. Littlejohn, 38, pleaded guilty in October to one count of unauthorized disclosures of income tax returns. He leaked not only Trump's tax records but also the tax records of thousands of the nation's wealthiest individuals to two news outlets between 2018 and 2020. Before returning his work laptop to the IRS, he deleted the documents.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes stated that the leak was "an attack on our constitutional democracy" and compared it to the January 6th insurrection. In October, Reyes expressed her deep concern over Littlejohn's actions, emphasizing that society cannot function when individuals take the law into their own hands. The two news outlets that received the leaked tax records were not named, but in 2020, The New York Times published Trump's tax returns, and in 2019, ProPublica reported on them.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland condemned Littlejohn's actions, stating that he had broken federal law and betrayed the public's trust. The Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable those who violate the law.