Charles Littlejohn, a contractor formerly associated with the IRS, the US tax body, is facing charges for leaking the tax returns of a “high-ranking government official.” While official documents do not specify the individual, a source has confirmed to CBS News, a partner of the BBC, that the individual in question is former US president Donald Trump.
Prosecutors accuse Mr. Littlejohn of unlawfully obtaining and disseminating tax return details of “thousands” of the country’s wealthiest citizens. The Department of Justice asserts that this data was subsequently shared with a media organization.
These two media outlets have been identified by insiders as The New York Times, which reportedly received the tax details of Mr. Trump, and ProPublica, which purportedly obtained information about other wealthy individuals. The New York Times refrained from commenting on the matter, while ProPublica maintained its stance of not knowing the identity of the source of the tax information.
The documents highlight Mr. Littlejohn’s association with an unnamed consultancy from 2017 to 2021, which liaised with the US Department of the Treasury’s IRS on tax administration matters. Allegations claim that, between 2018 and 2020, Littlejohn, while under contract with the IRS, illicitly procured tax returns and related data, some of which span over 15 years.
The New York Times, in a 2020 piece believed to be based on the leaked data, reported that Donald Trump paid a mere $750 in federal income tax in 2016 and during his inaugural year in the presidency. Furthermore, the publication disclosed that Trump did not pay any income taxes in 10 out of the previous 15 years, citing “chronic losses and years of tax avoidance.”
Charles Littlejohn, a resident of Washington DC, if found guilty of unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and associated information, could face a prison sentence of up to five years. Both Littlejohn and Trump have yet to make any public statements regarding the issue.
