Ex‑IRS worker faces jail for leaking Trump, Bezos and Musk's private tax documents
The international news outlet NBC News reported on the matter. It highlighted that Charles Littlejohn, 38, had previously delivered extensive tax documents about former US President Donald Trump to "The New York Times". But that was not the extent of his actions. He also revealed the tax files of prominent billionaires - Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
Jan 29, 2024 | updated: 4:40 AM EST, March 7, 2024
Leaker of Trump's tax papers sentenced to prison
What's intriguing is that Littlejohn pleaded guilty to the charges placed against him by the prosecution. The investigators petitioned the court to impose the statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
NBC News reported that on Monday, January 29, 2024, a federal court in Washington passed its judgment against the accused former IRS employee. The sentence was handed down by US District Judge - Ana C. Reyes.
Judge Reyes sentenced Littlejohn to a 5-year term in prison. She additionally decreed that he must pay a fine of $5,000 (which is equivalent to roughly $5,000).
"You can be an exceptional person and still commit grave misdeeds. What you did, by targeting the sitting President of the United States, constituted an attack on our constitutional democracy," said the judge, as quoted by NBC News.
The defense lawyer for Littlejohn argued that while his client did indeed commit a crime, he "held a deep-seated moral belief that the American people deserved to know this information." It appears that the convict saw the disclosure of tax information as the sole means to instigate changes in the American system.
