Charles Littlejohn: Man who stole and leaked Trump tax records sentenced to 5 years in prison | CNN Politics
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The man who stole and leaked former President Donald Trump and thousands of other’s tax records has been sentenced to five years in prison.

The man who stole and leaked former President Donald Trump and thousands of other’s tax records has been sentenced to five years in prison.

In October, Charles Littlejohn, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized disclosures of income tax returns. According to his plea agreement, he stole Trump’s tax returns along with the tax data of “thousands of the nation’s wealthiest people,” while working for a consulting firm with contracts with the Internal Revenue Service.

Littlejohn leaked the information to two news outlets and deleted the documents from his IRS-assigned laptop before returning it and covered the rest of his digital tracks by deleting places where he initially stored the information.

Judge Ana Reyes highlighted the gravity of the crime, saying multiple times that it amounted to an attack against the US and its legal foundation.

  • AutistoMephisto@lemmy.world
    131·
    9 months ago

    Yeah. I mean, considering what they could have done, though, I’d say 5 years is less of a slap on the wrist, and more of a whack with a yardstick.

    • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
      19·
      9 months ago

      Five years is literally the worst sentence you can get for the crime he pled guilty to. From how it’s worded, the most recommended penalty for that crime appears to be a $5000 fine and maybe a little jail time.

      They “threw the book at him” by all definitions of the word.

      • AutistoMephisto@lemmy.world
        5·
        9 months ago

        So, they gave him the maximum sentence, and the pro-Trump judge was pissed the sentence couldn’t be any higher? What a piece of shit.

        • LarmyOfLone@lemm.ee
          72·
          9 months ago

          Apparently Ana Reyes was appointed by Joe Biden. You can’t really call her a fascist, but her delusional liberal view of the world make her an indirect but effective supporter of fascism: If the inequality caused by the insane concentration of wealth and the resulting systemic corruption and injustice is not addressed, it causes degradation of material conditions and creates a fertile ground for fascism. But this they don’t want to hear.

          In my view the wealth inequality violates the intent of the constitution and Littlejon is a political prisoner.

        • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
          2·
          9 months ago

          I can’t speak for whether the judge was pro-Trump. It doesn’t sound (from other replies) like that was the case.

          I think it’s more that the everyone in the System (from prosecutors to judges) have a strong dislike for whistleblower crimes.

    • linearchaos@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      9 months ago

      Could have done worse. Whistleblowers generally deserve significant leniency though I feel. Especially for a crime where no one was injured.

      • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
        9·
        9 months ago

        He got the maximum sentence under §7213

        I mean, they could have disappeared him or thrown in a bunch of bullshit charges. But for what he did, he got as bad as it gets. The DOJ page even said they sentenced him so harshly to send a warning to people who consider repeating his behavior.

        Whistleblowers are always punished harshly on purpose.

        • AutistoMephisto@lemmy.world
          2·
          9 months ago

          Wait. Was this a felony? Okay, then I guess he’s not getting off lightly. Sure, he’s in prison for only 5 years, but after he gets out he’s still a felon. That means no voting, no gun ownership, no passport so he can’t leave the country, ever.

          • LarmyOfLone@lemm.ee
            5·
            9 months ago

            Wait, felons can’t get a passport so they leave the US? That kind of makes them political prisoners.

          • paysrenttobirds@sh.itjust.works
            2·
            9 months ago

            I thought the same as you, but it seems it’s not so bad. You can vote after a felony sentence in the US, but maybe not right away and sometimes you have to settle court fines first.

            Guns take longer and maybe never if your crime was violent or involved gun laws.

            For passports, it seems most certain to be a no if your crime involved trafficking, smuggling, or anything to do with another country.

            I think this guy can expect these rights restored after his sentence. But you’re still right that the conviction will likely be a continuing problem in other ways. I doubt he could be hired as CPA or anywhere else involving confidential records.

    • doricub@lemmy.world
      41·
      9 months ago

      I mean, in the eyes of the judge and the lawyers, the crime was premeditated, covered up, and the defendant is remorseless. Pretty clear grounds to give the maximum penalty allowed by law.

      I believe the tax records for large corporations and the upper class should fax higher scrutiny without having to be publicly leaked.

      • LarmyOfLone@lemm.ee
        4·
        9 months ago

        No the judge was far more extreme then that:

        “What you did in attacking the sitting president of the United States was an attack on our constitutional democracy,” Reyes said. “We’re talking about someone who … pulled off the biggest heist in IRS history.” The judge compared Littlejohn’s actions to those of the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, noting that, “your actions were also a threat to our democracy.” “The fact that he did what he did and he’s facing one felony count, I have no words for,”

        She practically admitted that her thinking was politically motivated. And that even though democracy in the US was and still is in danger and wealth inequality severely undermines the democratic vote of citizens, there is absolutely no excuse to resist against tyranny using illegal means. She’s not a fascist, but she’d make an excellent nazi. Yes Godwin’s law but that is how that worked. If Trump wins again democracy in the US could literally end but she sees no morally justifiable reason to resist.

        PS: Or she just doesn’t understand that extreme wealth inequality and rise of fascism are linked, and you cannot fight the one without fighting the other.

      • AutistoMephisto@lemmy.world
        2·
        9 months ago

        True, however, power concedes nothing without a demand. The only thing the powerful fear is losing that power. You can call for higher scrutiny of the upper class and corporations all you like, but they won’t do it unless forced to. And they’re also the ones who write national policy, so good luck writing a law to force them to do anything. It will be shoved into a shredder the second it enters the DC city limits.