Leaker of Trump Tax Returns, and Thousands More, Gets a Slap on Wrist From Biden Admin
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“I made my decision with the full knowledge that I would likely end up in a courtroom,” former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn said.
Littlejohn didn’t just leak years of Donald Trump’s tax returns to The New York Times in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. He also leaked the tax returns of thousands of other wealthy Americans, along with other private financial information about them, to another left-leaning “news” outlet, ProPublica.
Littlejohn’s crime has been referred to as the “greatest heist in IRS history.” After all, he stole and disclosed the tax returns of about 7,600 individuals and 600 entities.
But federal prosecutors alleged that Littlejohn stole and leaked tax information of about 18,000 individuals. The prosecutors said that “the tax returns are just the tip of the iceberg.”
The Justice Department alleges that Littlejohn took his job as a contractor for the Internal Revenue Service with an eye toward leaking Trump’s tax returns and concocted an elaborate scheme to avoid detection. He “engaged in multiple discussions, including in-person meetings” with New York Times reporters, and as one report noted, “after initially handing over the trove of tax records, he then stole more records and provided the reporters with more information.”
What did Littlejohn get for his egregious conduct? A sweetheart plea deal from the Biden Justice Department, which is run by his appointee, Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Despite his likely committing many felony offenses, the Justice Department agreed to charge Littlejohn with, and allow him to plead guilty to, only one count of unauthorized disclosure of tax records.
This inconceivable charging decision has sparked widespread outrage.
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