In 2019, then IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn stole President Donald Trump's tax returns and illegally leaked them to the media. They were also given to Democratic operatives.
Last month, Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to a number of federal crimes.
"Littlejohn accessed tax returns associated with Public Official A (and related individuals and entities) on an IRS database after using broad search parameters designed to conceal the true purpose of his queries. He then uploaded the tax returns to a private website in order to avoid IRS protocols established to detect and prevent large downloads or uploads from IRS devices or systems. Littlejohn then saved the tax returns to multiple personal storage devices, including an iPod, before contacting News Organization 1," the Department of Justice details.
"Between around August 2019 and October 2019, Littlejohn provided News Organization 1 with the tax return information associated with Public Official A. Littlejohn subsequently stole additional tax return information related to Public Official A and provided it to News Organization 1. Beginning in September 2020, News Organization 1 published a series of articles about Public Official A’s tax returns using the tax return information obtained from Littlejohn," DOJ continues.
The IRS Taxpayer Bill of Rights states, "Taxpayers have the right to expect that any information they provide to the IRS will not be disclosed unless authorized by the taxpayer or by law. Taxpayers have the right to expect appropriate action will be taken against employees, return preparers, and others who wrongfully use or disclose taxpayer return information."
But it wasn't just Trump who had his confidential information stolen and published by Littlejohn. In 2020, thousands of taxpayers were victims of his crimes.
“Charles Littlejohn abused his position as a consultant at the Internal Revenue Service by disclosing thousands of Americans’ federal tax returns and other private financial information to news organizations. He violated his responsibility to safeguard the sensitive information that was entrusted to his care, and now he is a convicted felon,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri recently said about the case. “Today’s sentence sends a strong message that those who violate laws intended to protect sensitive tax information will face significant punishment.
According to recent testimony by IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, it was tens-of-thousands of Americans.