The general consensus for a significant portion of President Donald Trump’s initial term was that getting hold of his tax returns could trigger his political undoing. It wasn’t until Sept. 27, 2020, at the crescendo of Trump’s bid for re-election, that it was publicized that an extensive span of tax return data belonging to Mr. Trump, as well as the numerous companies constituting his business empire, had been procured. However, the leakage of these documents did not culminate in the groundbreaking scandal many had forecasted, and the public’s attention swiftly shifted. The method through which this information was acquired remained undisclosed until Sept. 29, 2023, when Charles Edward Littlejohn was indicted by the Justice Department for the unauthorized reveal of tax returns.
Charles Edward Littlejohn was not an employee of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), he was a staff member at the consulting firm, Booz Allen Hamilton, on contract with the IRS. As per the Justice Department, from the year 2008 to 2013, Littlejohn had irregular working stints with Booz Allen Hamilton. After a break from the company, he aimed to return in 2017 with intentions of obtaining and divulging tax returns. The specific documents which Littlejohn intended to disseminate were those belonging to Trump.
Portrayed by the Justice Department, Littlejohn saw Trump as a menacing figure and detrimental to the principles of democracy. To safeguard his activities from being detected, Littlejohn devised an elaborate plot. His access encompassed a massive amount of uncloaked taxpayer data, inclusive of tax returns and other associated information for Trump and his various businesses.
Littlejohn carried out his work discreetly for a couple of months, until he initiated the process of leaking Trump’s details to members of the press in May 2019. A news piece built on the unlawfully obtained data made it to public view prior to Election Day. However, Littlejohn was far from being finished. His next aim was to target wealthy individuals, including billionaires and millionaires across the country.
The Justice Department stated that Littlejohn gained entry to the unencrypted IRS data belonging to several of the nation’s riches, which were records gathered over a decade and a half. This data comprised of much more than just tax returns. It also contained information regarding investments, various share trading activities, gambling profits, audit outcomes, and a range of other financial aspects. This treasure trove of information found its way into the public domain through media channels.
In June 2021, a report titled ‘The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax’ was unleashed. This included details of affluent figures such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and more, providing a first-time glimpse into their financial affairs.
The arrest of Littlejohn spurred the Republican Party to investigate the scope of the damage he had caused. Initial speculation suggested that private taxpayer details of a whopping 70,000 individuals were illicitly disclosed. However, a more recent conjecture has raised this approximation to over 405,000 taxpayers.
The IRS stipulated that almost 89% of these taxpayers were associated with business entities, implying that the personal data of more than 40,000 individuals were violated. Littlejohn confessed to a single charge of unauthorized revelation of tax data.
After admitting guilt to this lone count, Littlejohn received a sentence of five years of incarceration, which is the maximum penalty for this specific offense. The crux of this saga reveals that Donald Trump was the primary object of Littlejohn’s activities.
Littlejohn maintained his belief that the actions of Trump posed a significant threat to democratic principles, a belief that he saw as a justification for his illegal actions. These events have raised an intriguing question: is there another Littlejohn in the shadows of the federal system, waiting for the right moment to take similar actions?
The post The Insider Betrayal: IRS Data Leaked by Consultant appeared first on Real News Now.
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