Federal prosecutors have revealed charges against an individual working as a contractor for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The contractor stands accused of committing a grave offense by allegedly pilfering the tax returns belonging to a prominent government official.
In their exclusive report, CNN shared they discovered in a highly placed source that the individual in question is none other than former President Donald Trump.
Court documents have revealed that Charles Edward Littlejohn, a 38-year-old individual, was employed by the IRS from 2018 to 2020.
In a shocking turn of events, it has come to light that during his contract, a certain individual named Littlejohn has been accused of engaging in illicit activities.
According to reports, Littlejohn stands accused of stealing sensitive tax returns and related information belonging to a public official, identified as Public Official.
Furthermore, it is alleged that Littlejohn went on to disclose this confidential information to a news organization. The gravity of these allegations cannot be understated, as they raise serious concerns about the breach of trust and the potential implications for the affected public official.
Court documents have revealed that the tax returns under scrutiny belong to the former president, although the official involved has not been named. A reliable source, who is well-versed in the ongoing investigation, cited by CNN, disclosed this information.
In addition to obtaining the former president's tax documents, Littlejohn, the accused individual, is now facing allegations of stealing highly sensitive IRS information.
This stolen data reportedly includes the tax returns and return information of thousands of the nation's wealthiest individuals, spanning a period of over 15 years. The gravity of this breach has raised concerns about the security and privacy of such confidential financial records.
It has been discovered that Littlejohn has reportedly forwarded the tax information to another news organization whose identity has not been disclosed either.
“Both news organizations published numerous articles describing the tax information they obtained from the Defendant,” court documents said.
In 2020 and 2021, respectively, the New York Times and ProPublica published articles based on the tax returns of the former president and other affluent Americans. The news organizations are not identified in court documents because they have not been accused of wrongdoing.
Littlejohn faces up to five years in prison if convicted of one count of unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and return information.
A spokesperson for ProPublica said in a statement to CNN that “ProPublica doesn’t know the identity of the source who provided this trove of information on the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans.”
