The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building is seen in Washington, on March 22, 2013.
Susan Walsh/AP
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Susan Walsh/AP
The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building is seen in Washington, on March 22, 2013.
Susan Walsh/AP
WASHINGTON — A former contractor for the Internal Revenue Service who pleaded guilty to leaking tax information to news outlets about former President Donald Trump and thousands of the country’s wealthiest people was sentenced to five years in prison Monday.
Charles Edward Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, D.C., gave data to The New York Times and ProPublica between 2018 and 2020 in leaks that appeared to be “unparalleled in the IRS’s history,” prosecutors said.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes imposed the maximum sentence, saying the crime targeted the nation’s system of government and its democracy.
“When you target the sitting president of the United States, you target the office,” she said. “It can not be open season on our elected officials.”
Littlejohn apologized and said he alone bears responsibility. “I acted out of a sincere, if misguided, belief I was serving the public interest,” he said. “My actions undermined the fragile trust we place in government.”
Defense attorney Lisa Manning argued for a lower sentence in line with typical guidelines for someone without a criminal record. But Reyes pushed back saying said…
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