The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged a former IRS consultant for allegedly disclosing Donald Trump’s tax returns to the media.

Charles Littlejohn, 38, is also accused of leaking tax returns of thousands of other wealthy individuals.

Although the DOJ didn’t identify the news outlets that received the tax returns, it’s believed to be The New York Times and ProPublica.

According to Fox News, Littlejohn allegedly disclosed Donald Trump’s tax returns to The New York Times while he was in office.

Per Fox News:

The returns dated back more than 15 years, court documents said. He allegedly stole the tax returns between 2018 and 2020, federal prosecutors said. Trump is not named in the complaint.

“Littlejohn is charged with one count of unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and return information. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison,” the DOJ said in a news release.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the IRS’s internal watchdog, is investigating the case. The DOJ declined to comment on the case.

Fox News was told a guilty plea is in the works. Littlejohn was working as a contractor for the tax agency when he allegedly stole Trump’s tax returns and gave them to the New York Times. The newspaper published several stories on Trump’s taxes before he left office.

Read the Department of Justice press release:

An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) consultant was charged today with disclosing tax return information without authorization.

According to court documents, Charles Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, D.C., while working at the IRS as a government contractor, stole tax return information associated with a high-ranking government official (Public Official A) and disclosed it to a news organization (News Organization 1). Littlejohn also stole tax return information for thousands of the nation’s wealthiest individuals, and disclosed this tax return information to another news organization (News Organization 2).

Littlejohn is charged with one count of unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and return information. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Trevor Nelson of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) made the announcement.

TIGTA is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Lauren Castaldi and Jonathan E. Jacobson of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case, with substantial assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Eleanor Hurney for the Northern District of West Virginia.

 

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