September 29th 2023.
A consultant for the IRS, Charles Littlejohn, has been charged with leaking private tax information about former President Donald Trump and thousands of the nation’s wealthiest people to two news organizations. This was confirmed on Friday by the United States Justice Department. Although the names of the news outlets have not been disclosed, it is believed they are ProPublica and the New York Times.
If found guilty, Littlejohn could face up to five years in prison. It was also revealed that Littlejohn had entered into a plea deal, as the charges were filed as a “criminal information” rather than an indictment.
Two years ago, ProPublica reported that they had obtained a vast amount of data about the taxes and incomes of the wealthy population, many of whom were famous. It was also released that many of them had paid little or nothing in taxes.
The leak was shocking for many IRS veterans, as tax filings are subject to strict security measures and unauthorized disclosure is rare. Adding to the mystery was the silence of the Biden administration, who had not spoken publicly about the leak or how it happened. Rumors about the leak prompted the Republicans to accuse the Democrats of disclosing the information to push their agenda of raising taxes on the rich.
Ken Griffin, one of the people whose records were leaked, took the government to court for failing to protect his tax filings. The administration argued that there was no evidence the leak had come from a government employee.
IRS Commissioner, Danny Werfel, said in a statement: “Any disclosure of taxpayer information is unacceptable. The IRS has implemented new protocols and protections to tighten security. We are continuing our aggressive work in this critical area in order to protect the tax and financial information of taxpayers.”
Littlejohn had access to the records “for purposes of tax administration” while working as a contractor to a consulting firm. It is believed that he stole the data between 2018 and 2020. It remains unclear how the US Justice Department came to charge Littlejohn.
This case has brought to light numerous security issues not just at the IRS but for all those who have varying degrees of access to private tax information. Senator Mike Crapo, the top Republican on the Finance Committee, said: “At the very least, IRS guardrails failed to prevent this brazen breach of taxpayer rights. Resolving these and other ongoing security issues at the IRS, as well as identifying and making whole the individuals impacted by this breach, must be the IRS’s highest priority.”
Ken Griffin shared his thoughts on the matter, saying: “The government has a fundamental obligation to protect the confidentiality of Americans’ sensitive information, whether it be tax records or healthcare records.”
Littlejohn’s lawyer declined to comment and a ProPublica spokesperson reiterated their previous statement that they did not know the identity of the person who gave them the documents. The New York Times did not respond to a request for comment.
This case raises troubling questions about the security of taxpayer information and the lengths to which people will go to obtain confidential data. It is clear that the IRS needs to take stronger measures to ensure the privacy of taxpayer records.
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