(Washington) A former employee of the US tax administration pleaded guilty on Thursday to leaking to the media the tax returns of a very senior official in 2020, the Department of Justice announced.
The department does not cite in its press release the name of former President Donald Trump or the media concerned, but the facts and dates correspond to the publication in September 2020 by the New York Times of the then president’s tax returns.
Breaking with a long tradition, the latter has always refused to publish his tax returns.
Charles Littlejohn, 38, pleaded guilty to unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and his sentence, up to five years in prison, will be set for Jan. 29, 2024, the department said.
“While working for the tax authority, he stole tax return information linked to a high-ranking official (Public Official A),” according to the statement.
On several occasions from August 2019, he transmitted this information “to media 1”, which published “in September 2020 a series of articles on the income declarations of public official A”, adds the department.
The investigation of New York Times in September 2020 claimed that Donald Trump had paid only $750 in federal taxes in 2016 and 2017, and none in 10 of the previous 15 years, due in particular to significant loss declarations from his companies.
Subsequently, in July and August 2020, Charles Littlejohn stole the tax returns of thousands of the country’s richest people and delivered them to “media 2 which published more than 50 articles using the stolen data” , according to the press release.
In all likelihood, this is the investigative media ProPublica which broadcast in 2021 a series of documents on tax evasion practiced by billionaires.