Trump, Musk Tax Leaker Should Get 5 Years for Theft, US Says

A former IRS contractor who pleaded guilty to stealing tax return information about former President Donald Trump and thousands of wealthy Americans should get five years in prison for the unlawful disclosures, the US Department of Justice told a federal court.

Charles Littlejohn pleaded guilty on Oct. 12 to leaking Trump’s taxpayer data to the New York Times and the tax return information of other prominent billionaires—including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Ken Griffin—to ProPublica. Littlejohn “weaponized his access” to leak the taxpayer data and “further his own personal, political agenda,” federal prosecutors told the US District Court for the District of Columbia in a sentencing memo filed Tuesday.

“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,” the government’s memo said. “Everyone is entitled to equal protection under the law.”

Littlejohn should face the statutory maximum of 60 months in prison for the unauthorized disclosures, as well as his later attempts to obstruct the investigation that he anticipated would follow after the returns were published. In 2021, Littlejohn wiped his user profile before returning his IRS laptop, destroyed the virtual machines that facilitated the theft, and canceled the private website domain registration used to upload the information online, the DOJ said.

The contractor also applied to work as an IRS consultant “with the intention of accessing and disclosing tax returns,” the memo said. “Defendant’s betrayal of the public trust merits significant punishment.”

The court should grant an upward variance to the statutory maximum sentence in order to deter other individuals with similar access from taking similar action, the US told Judge Ana C. Reyes.

Littlejohn is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 24.

ProPublica’s reporting has included the tax information of Bloomberg LP founder Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg Law is operated by entities controlled by Michael Bloomberg.

Schertler, Onorato, Mead & Sears LLP represents Littlejohn.

The case is United States v. Littlejohn, D.D.C., No. 1:23-cv-343, government’s sentencing memo 1/16/24.