A former contractor for the Internal Revenue Service who leaked the tax returns of former President Donald Trump and others sought out the position with the intention of stealing and disclosing them to members of the media, the Epoch Times reported. The man, Charles Littlejohn, could serve up to five years in prison for the crime.
At the sentencing hearing Wednesday, the Department of Justice revealed Littlejohn's plan. He had worked for the consulting firm Booz Allen from 2008 to 2013 but sought employment there again in 2017 after Trump's election.
Prosecutors say Littlejohn hatched the plan to rejoin the firm "with the intention of accessing and disclosing" Trump's tax information because he was a "dangerous and a threat to democracy." Over a two-year period, Littlejohn leaked the information to several unnamed news outlets.
They further believe Littlejohn "weaponized his access to unmasked taxpayer data to further his own personal, political agenda, believing that he was above the law." The Washington, D.C., man pleaded guilty to unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and return information in October.
Under the law, his crime "merits significant punishment" for its effect on the public, the 15-page legal filing maintained at sentencing. While prosecutors respect a free press, they believe Littlejohn's actions stepped over a line.
"A free press and public engagement with the media are critical to any healthy democracy, but stealing and leaking private, personal tax information strips individuals of the legal protection of their most sensitive data. Everyone is entitled to equal protection under the law," prosecutors claimed.
The legal filing outlined "a sophisticated, detailed plan" that was no smash-and-grab operation. Littlejohn was able to evade the system's checks and balances to download Trump's tax returns using a few key maneuvers.
Firstly, Littlejohn searched for and downloaded Trump's tax returns "using more generalized parameters" to avoid detection. Then, he uploaded them to his own private website and moved them to on an Apple iPod used as a makeshift hard drive.
Littlejohn took that data to various publications in May 2019 and had at least 50 articles published about the then-president using the information.. One of those included the New York Times, which published a September 2020 article about Trump's 2016 and 2017 returns.
It's unclear how Littlejohn was finally caught in this scheme. As for the firm he was employed with, a spokesperson from Booz Allen excoriated its former employee.
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the actions of this individual, who was active with the company years ago. We have zero tolerance for violations of the law and operate under the highest ethical and professional guidelines," the spokesperson said.
"We fully supported the U.S. government in its investigation into this matter," the person added. Meanwhile, this scheme underscores exactly why the left's rhetoric is so dangerous.
What Littlejohn did was unethical and illegal. What's worse is that he did so not for political or financial gain but because he felt like Trump was dangerous and would do anything to stop him.
This mindset is exactly what comes of the left's talking points about Trump being dangerous. Sadly, there's no telling how far someone will eventually take that kind of encouragement.
