A federal appeals court has confirmed the five‑year prison term imposed on Charles Littlejohn, a former consultant to the Internal Revenue Service, for unlawfully disclosing the tax returns of President Donald Trump and thousands of the United States’ wealthiest individuals.
Judges deem sentence reasonable
The 16‑page opinion, authored by Judges Justin Walker, Neomi Rao and Judith Rogers, concluded that the punishment was appropriate and offered a scathing account of Littlejohn’s conduct. The panel highlighted that his actions constituted a serious breach of privacy with far‑reaching repercussions for both individuals and businesses.
Littlejohn was hired by the IRS in 2017, according to the opinion, with the explicit intention of stealing and leaking tax information. In 2019 he supplied President Trump’s tax return and related data to a reporter at the New York Times, assisting the journalist in analysing the material. He subsequently provided additional returns and data that were published weeks before the 2020 presidential election.
The court noted that Littlejohn systematically violated the confidentiality of roughly 600 entities and about 7,600 of the nation’s wealthiest taxpayers, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett. He passed the stolen information to the investigative outlet ProPublica, which incorporated it into around 50 articles. The opinion warned that victims suffered loss of business, public disparagement and even physical threats to their families. It also pointed out that ProPublica still retains unpublished data obtained from Littlejohn, leaving affected taxpayers fearful of future disclosure.
In 2023 Littlejohn pleaded guilty to a single count of unlawfully disclosing tax information. The court sentenced him to the statutory maximum of five years’ imprisonment, a $5,000 fine, a $100 special assessment and three years of supervised release. The appellate panel described the offence as politically motivated and an attack on the sitting president and constitutional democracy.
According to the Bureau of Prisons, the 41‑year‑old is incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Marion, Illinois, with a scheduled release date of 8 August 2027.
First reported by the appellate opinion.