A former contractor for the Internal Revenue Service was indicted Friday on charges of leaking tax information to news outlets about thousands of the nation’s wealthiest people.
Charles Edward Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, DC, is accused of stealing tax return information and providing it to two different news outlets between 2018 and 2020, the Justice Department said in a statement. Littlejohn declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press, which also left a message for his attorney, Lisa Manning.
The branch was not named in the charging documents, but the description and timeframe align with stories about former President Donald Trump’s tax returns in The New York Times and reporting on the taxes of America’s wealthy in the nonprofit investigative journalism organization ProPublica.
Both organizations published numerous articles on tax information, some dating back more than 15 years, according to charging documents.
A 2020 New York Times report found Trump paid $750 in federal income tax the year he entered the White House and no income tax at all several years due to large losses. His six-year return was later issued by the Democratically controlled House Ways and Means Committee.
Charles Edward Littlejohn, a former IRS contractor, is accused of stealing tax return information and giving it to two different news outlets between 2018 and 2020.UPI
A message requesting comment was left for the newspaper.
ProPublica reported in 2021 on a set of tax return data about the wealthiest Americans. It found the 25 richest people legally pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than most ordinary workers.
A spokeswoman for the outlet declined to comment on the allegations, adding that ProPublica reporters had previously said they did not know the source’s identity. The stories sparked calls for reform and an investigation into tax information leaks, which have specific legal protections.
The New York Times published a story about former President Donald Trump’s tax returns.AP
Littlejohn is charged with one count of unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and return information. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
The IRS declined to comment specifically on the case, but Commissioner Danny Werfel said “any disclosure of taxpayer information is unacceptable” and the agency has tightened security.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
