News @lemmy.world MicroWave @lemmy.world 9mo ago

Charles Littlejohn: Man who stole and leaked Trump tax records sentenced to 5 years in prison

www.cnn.com Charles Littlejohn: Man who stole and leaked Trump tax records sentenced to 5 years in prison | CNN Politics

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.

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United States | News & Politics @lemmy.ml floofloof @lemmy.ca 9mo ago

Charles Littlejohn: Man who stole and leaked Trump tax records sentenced to 5 years in prison

www.cnn.com /2024/01/29/politics/charles-littlejohn-trump-taxes-leak/index.html

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279 comments

That's a longer sentence than many of the January 6th traitors.
- This. Jan 6 traitors are getting slap on their wrists and pat on their backs
  
  All Cops are Bastards, All Judges are Bastards, All Prosecutors are Bastards.
  
  The entire fucking "justice" system is tilted towards forgiving and enabling right-wing violence while labeling left-wing protest as "terrorism" that justifies lethal force.
- Adding to this. The judge said "It engenders the same fear that January 6 does." So if this crime is just as bad Jan 6, shouldn't he be getting the same punishment as other Jan 6 traitors. Like you said, a shorter sentence. Not saying I agree with the judge but pick a side.
  
  To a rich person, losing some (not even all) of their money is the most terrifying thing imaginable.
- This is America.
  
  Oh I know. Littlejohn committed the real type of crime- financial.
  
  Don't catch you slippin' now
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.”

Because stealing and releasing tax documents is the same thing as attempting to violently overthrow the government.
- “your actions were also a threat to our democracy.”
  
  This is one of those exciting sentences where you have to substitute 'democracy' for 'rich people's yacht money'.
  
  I disagree. As commendable as his actions are, he clearly broke a law that is there for a good reason.
- So the judge is in with trump. Hope none of his cases go that guys way.
  
  Like yeah, he broke the law and needed to be punished. But it wasn't government secrets, which i'm pretty sure is already legally coded separately from this guys crimes, and also neither of which are treason, which would be the capital attack.
  
  So the guy blatantly spoke against his own legal experience for a political swing.
  
  She was appointed by Joe Biden and is an immigrant to this country from Uruguay. I don't think she's a Trump sycophant, I think she's just a lawful pedant and a fan of hyperbole.
  
  I was going to argue that the attack on the Capitol (though your spelling may more accurately reflect real life) was not treason. No enemies were afforded aid or comfort.
  
  “Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or imprisoned and fined, and incapable of holding any U.S. office.” [emphasis mine]
  
  Now I'm rethinking my life. How could I have been so wrong about such a pivotal event in my life?!
  
  (For any of your assholes thinking I'm a 01/06 sympathizer or apologist, I doubt you personally know anymore more angry. Given my druthers, I'd ask the court to impose the death penalty and carry it out personally. And I'm not some angry, young, keyboard warrior talking. I've thought on this much.)
  
  This same judge has sentenced many for J6.
- Apparently Norway must hate democracy since all of their tax returns are public.
- Is the judge part of the Sinclair media group?
  
  In a manner of speaking, yes.
- Fucking judges are blowhards stuck up their own ass wanting to make the judgments they hand down sound more important than they are.
  
  It's all about feeding their giant fucking egos.
- Documents that every other president released voluntarily...
- Friend of mine recently was busted with an ounce of pot, he was compared to Al Capone in court by the judge. Judges can be straight sociopathic.
That's RIGHT! Releasing Tax Returns gets you MORE Jail Time then trying to violently overthrow the United States Government and HANG the Vice President! That will teach Hostile Countries to MESS with US!
- The way we turned our backs on Afghani interpreters who tried to get asylum here should have shown Charles Littlejohn what happens to people who fight for America
  
  He probably knew. There are more stories of bad outcomes for that kind of shit than good ones. The fact that he did it anyway is why his actions are so admirable and heroic.
Yet holding onto classified documents, then hiding them and lying about it to investigators for months gets nothing but a very stern finger-wagging?
- It may still come to bite him in the ass. The trial is actually scheduled to May this year but the scheduling will be looked at in March. The charges themselves are pretty serious, I think it was something like 30 charges under the espionage act and 10 charges for obstruction of justice or false statements.
  
  There's a reason Trump wants to postpone it until after the election. His only shot at wiggling out of it is by becoming president.
Lol check out this bs: "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.”

“It engenders the same fear that January 6 does,” Reyes added."
- Invasion of privacy is a very big deal to our legal system when it is the rich peoples’ big number papers.
  
  Invasion of privacy is a very big deal for rich people
- What an out of touch judge
  
  That's a tautology right there. A redundant tautology.
- If he really thought it was like january 6th he would have gone leinent on him like all the other j6 defendents.
- The fear in who?
  
  Fascists
Leak a billionaires tax records: 5 years.

Literally rape while a billionaire: 0 years.
- Becoming president and attempting to overthrow the government: ???
  
  Let's find out!
- Rape a girl behind a dumpster, with rich parents: think about his swimming career! 6 months, 4 with good behavior.
  
  Raping multiple children while supposedly being the spiritual leader of a community: sideways job transfer.
  
  Wasn't that the rapist Brock Turner?
- Yeah, statute of limitations on rape shouldn’t exist. It’s kinda bonkers it hasn’t been removed yet.
- It's hard to prosecute rape 30 years later, fairly.
  
  They were able to prove it well enough for E. Jean Carroll's civil case to consider the assault a fact
If you declare you are running for President, it should trigger an automatic disclosure of your entire tax record.
- If you try to get any supervisory position in the federal government, they do a thorough background check, including checking on your debts. It's important to know whether someone at any level of management is susceptible to pressure or bribery. This goes for a LOT of non-management federal positions, too.
  
  But the president? No, we'll just trust him. What's a political candidate going to do, get up on a stage and lie?? Don't be ridiculous.
Aight, I mean sure. It was wrong, but 5 years? I understand that not all judges sentence in the same way but 5 years? Insurrection gets basically gets butt pats and this guy gets 5 years?
- I hope he manages to survive them.
  
  Epstein jeopardized rich people and got suicided.
  
  To be fair in Epsteins case his testifying could've probably put some people behind bars. This guy won't have anymore information now that he's been pulled away from the system.
- If you mess with wealthy people, they'll come at you fast with prison time. See also Elisabeth Holmes and SBF (I don't necessarily disagree with their sentences, but you don't see someone that scammed a bunch of poor people get the same sentences).
Anyone has ever deserved a pardon it's this guy
- Unfortunately a presidential pardon would be as blatant a political act as they come. Or at least that’s how it would be perceived.
  
  He’ll be OK. There’ll be employers lining up to give him a job afterwards.
  
  Putting ketchup on a burger and not mustard is seen as a political act anymore. Trump pardoned a group of war criminals, Charles Littlejohn deserves to walk free.
  
  Which means GOP would do it in a heartbeat but we for some reason never could dream of doing so
  
  I miss the days when politicians weren't afraid to do political things. These days they can't even pass bills.
  
  Pfffffff Biden is old as fuck and would be on his second term. The final act of his political career, and as political foosballs go about as long lasting as Barak Obama having a ketchup stain on his suit.
  
  There’ll be employers lining up to give him a job afterwards.
  
  Whistle-blowers are not very employable.
This man is a hero.
- This is what the US does to heros that speak truth against the owner class.
  
  You're not wrong but I feel you might be being overly specific. It's not just the US that protects their wealthy -- this would happen anywhere -- some places maybe a little less harshly, but plenty would be more harsh, too. The Panama Papers journalist was killed "extrajudicially"
Sucks that leaking those returns moved the needle exactly 0% in the fight against Trump.
- Trump could be eating his own shit in front of a crowd during a rally and his followers will start doing the same.
  
  Would they eat his or their own?
  
  sounds like a potentially effective piece of performance art if we can find a skilled impersonator.
too bad judge Reyes isnt going to tell us how serious it is to steal classified documents and sell them.
- Selling classified documents to Russian and Chinese interests is standard practice for the oligarchy though. Some petty serf peasant slapping a few feudal lords, that is a real crime in Neo Feudal America.
They made an example of them. That judge is well enough off to be thoroughly upset that somebody might release their crooked tax documents.

Honestly I think they should slip something into the law, for this type of leak if the person was lying and you release the document proving them lying that you get a slap on the wrist.
- 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.
  
  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.
  
  Could have done worse. Whistleblowers generally deserve significant leniency though I feel. Especially for a crime where no one was injured.
  
  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.
- I think he was given the maximum to keep the peace and not allow the dimwits to say he was a Dem puppet.
  
  I have a feeling that in the background he’ll likely be treated ok.
  
  So if his sentence is altered by possible violence, ie 'keep the peace' then that means terrorism works on the government. File that one away for later, could come in handy.
- Honestly I think they should slip something into the law
  
  Remind me again who are "they" exactly, and what are their incentives?
  
  They are lawmakers.
  
  Incentives would be to engage whistleblowers, forcing all to be more transparent in cases where no one is physically harmed.
- Can you cite anything that the judge has gone outside of the recommended punishment for this type of crime? Or is this just an idea that all of these powerful government officials are conspiring to scare people into not doing something like this? Any evidence that this judge is rich and corrupt? Or is it just that it fits the narrative that you want to be true so you'll assume it's true?
  
  The recommended penalty for unauthorized disclosure is something more like a $5000 fine. The maximum allowable penalty for the offense is 5 years in prison.
  
  "Wanting to do the right thing" is apparently an aggrivating circumstance.
  
  I can cite a shit ton of the uber wealthy that get off scott free for a hell of a lot worse. But that won't support your point any better.
- That is like saying if you break into someone's house and steal something that was stolen already then your crime is ok? "Two wrongs don't make a right"
  
  "Two wrongs don't make a right"
  
  The utter irony of saying this.
  
  The defendant's last name is "LittleJohn."
  
  Little John was the sidekick of Robin Hood.
  
  Robin Hood is the embodiment of the idea that, actually, two wrongs can very much make a right - stealing from the corrupt rich and giving to the poor is a good thing, actually. And breaking the law is good when the law only protects and empowers the corrupt and the wealthy
  
  And that is exactly what this defendant did. Much like his coincidental namesake, he stole from the corrupt rich and shared what he took with everyone else. And much like the "Outlaw" Robin Hood, he was punished for it.
  
  The only problem is that the United States isn't waiting for the Good King Richard to return and right all of our society's wrongs. Because, unlike Merry Old England, we don't have such a Good King coming to save us.
  
  Nah, I'm saying that sometimes someone does the wrong thing for the right reasons and they deserve leniency
  
  I'm saying I'd like to see him tried and sentenced like he's a billionaire.
  
  Right and Wrong are human concepts that change and adapt depending on the the motive of the story teller.
  
  Is killing another human being wrong? What if we call it Murder? What if we call it Self Defense? What if we call it Sacrifice? What if we call it War?
  
  All these words we use to describe the same thing, but whether its a Right or Wrong highly depends on the era, local, and values of the story teller.
  
  Was it wrong for Americans to help slaves escape to the north before the Civil War? That was illegal. Our hiding Jews during the Holocaust? That was also illegal.
  
  Would it be ok to break into my neighbor's house if I saw them drag another human being against their will, but the cops wont do anything because I can't prove it? Pretty sure a jury wouldn't fault me Breaking and Entry for that.
Charles Littlejohn is a hero.
- He's a political prisoner.
  
  There is a vast accumulation of power and systemic corruption because of the vast concentration of wealth. That should be unconstitutional and should be opposed.
Coming from. Sweden where all tax records are public, it seems insane to get 5 years for revealing taxes.
- Yeah, and wasn't Trump supposed to show his tax returns the moment he became president and promised he'd do it?
  
  It's more of a norm, not a requirement or law.
  
  It wasnt only Trumps 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.
In a sane world, he would have been given a Medal of Honor
- Hey may catch a pardon depending on how November goes. Could get ugly if Trump wins, too. The Donald is not a forgiving type...
  
  There is a zero percent chance of Biden pardoning him.
  
  If AOC is elected president then maybe.
  
  Naw Biden's not going to do it, and even if asked why not, he'll give some nonsense about letting the nation heal.
How did they get him tried and sentenced so fast?

Every time I question why Trump isn't in jail already people keep telling me "these things take time".

Given that Trump is a high profile case, allowing them to take twice the time of a normal person would have still put him behind bars already.
- They didn't try him, he ~~pled~~ pleaded(?) guilty.
  
  In October, Charles Littlejohn, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized disclosures of income tax returns.
- Trump's case may be a bit more complicated, for one.
I don't know if this sort of thing is allowed, but if outsiders can donate money to his prison commissary account, I will definitely donate.
- Would you donate for Assange? Same policy applied on him.
  
  Assange didn't steal anything.
I've actually met this guy a few years ago... crazy... he was a pretty nice guy from what I recall - brought homemade cinnamon buns to a party.

Anyways, his friends set up a gofundme to donate for his legal fees, since of course it costs thousands to continue defending himself and his actions...
- I’m honestly considering donating to his commissary account and sending him a letter once he’s actually settled in for his sentence.
If society survives long enough for this to become history, the act will be seen as as heroic. The hardest thing for the relatively comfortable, myself included, to do these days is risk that relative comfort and sacrifice our futures (civil and professional) for something that acts against all of the slow motion attacks on democracy going on right now. I don't know enough about him individually to say, but the act on its face us heroic and needed.
- Then why don't we pressure Biden into pardoning him?
  
  Biden's not going to pardon someone who broke the law to Biden's benefit
  
  Corruption is bad, remember?
  
  Because accepting a pardon is an admission of guilt.
Still more time than trump will ever serve.
- Even if Trump got the maximum sentence for all of his crimes, he wouldn't live another 5 years. (I don't mean to imply he'd be Epstein'd, or even Chauvin'd -- though i guess that's possible -- I just mean he's old, fat, eats unhealthily -- I can't think of a softer, weaker person. And "dying of old age" happens a lot younger when you're under a lot of stress.)
  
  Evil has a way of persisting.
So who's donating to his commissary? I'd be willing to throw a 20 every now and then.
- Got a link?
  
  To donate directly to his prison commissary, the basic instructions are at the bottom of this page here
  
  https://web.archive.org/web/20240129195016/https://www.bop.gov/inmates/communications.jsp
  
  However each of those methods is going to require getting a match on the inmate locator, and since he isn't actually incarcerated yet there aren't any matching results
  
  One other thing I found, though I have no way of knowing if it's legit - https://web.archive.org/save/https://www.gofundme.com/f/charles-littlejohns-legal-defense-fund
  
  (title is legal defense, but text says "defray his legal fees and expenses during incarceration.")
- Looks like he's still fighting the sentence and his friends set up a gofund me to help pay his legal fees. Should anyone be interested in showing him some support outside of the commissary.
Biden needs to pardon this guy right after elections
- He won't. Man drives me nuts.
  
  If Biden pardoned the guy, it would be seen as a very partisan action and would be seized upon in absolutely no uncertain terms by the GOP. They get their base in a lather over shit they just made up, imagine what they'd do with something that actually happened.
Careful guys, he’s a hero
- Funny thing is that probably in prison they will clap when he enters his cell
How was he not protected under whistleblower laws?
- You mean the ones that protected Snowden, Assange, and Manning?
  
  If people believe in this stupid law thing, they have to actually be willing to enforce it. You can't just keep giving into cynicism forever.
- He wasn't reporting anything illegal - just wrong.
- Look up UNAX, he wasn't authorized to even view that information meaning he did technically break the law. Judge is extra for that comment though.
  
  Who cares? It was for the betterment of the country by trying to stop fascism and so he should be pardoned. I'm surprised the jury didn't just let him off.
Is there a way to write him a letter? Idk how your prison system works, but this dude needs some encouragement for what he did.
- Is there a way to write him a letter?
  
  Theoretically, yes, that should be a big old 1st amendment free speech right, but since this is a legal right for a poor person expect it to be a big pain to exercise
  
  Anyway, all the instructions should be on this page here
  
  https://web.archive.org/web/20240129195016/https://www.bop.gov/inmates/communications.jsp
  
  However each of those methods is going to require getting a match on the inmate locator, and since I don't think he is actually incarcerated yet there aren't any matching results (and it will probably take some time after he's been incarcerated for his record to start showing up)
  
  I also found what looks like a GoFundMe page for him, which might be a way to get in contact with his family and friends, which might be a better way of contacting him (among other things, the prison email system only allows inmates to send messages to approved contacts and they're limited to 30 of those, so sending everything to someone with regular email who could be one of those contacts and just forward things along might work best) - https://web.archive.org/save/https://www.gofundme.com/f/charles-littlejohns-legal-defense-fund
  
  I should add I haven't verified that GoFundMe is legitimate, but it looks like it is
🫡
Can you imagine the storm in truth social if Biden pardoned this guy lmao, cmon Biden!
And Biden won't pardon him.
- But he's gonna lock down the border and bypass congress to ship weapons to Israel.
- Trump and his base already conflate his many court cases catching up to him as the DOJ sent to stop a political rival. If Biden just pardoned the person who “stole” Trumps taxes, we’d hear about it nonstop til November.
  
  Don’t do something because it might piss of the Republicans is not gonna cut it as an excuse.
  
  And as we have all seen, they will straight up invent a reason to complain nonstop until November if they don’t have a real one.
  
  So, what, instead Biden should capitulate to avoid offending them?
  
  We're going to hear about this shit nonstop til November anyway, it doesn't matter if Biden pardons him or not. Might as well earn it.
  
  It would be hilarious if he pardoned him the day he started his second term (not the day after the election, but the day he actually started his term).
  
  Won’t happen, but it’s fun to dream.
  
  Which is why he should wait until December.
- He really shouldn't. What the guy did was still legally wrong, and he probably knew it and weighed he would rather take jail time and commit it. A less scrupulous person could do worse things, which is why those laws are in place.
  
  If he could somehow reduce the sentence that would be great, and if that is on the table he should, but some punishment should still occur.
  
  He's a vigilante hero for what he did, but vigilantes are still criminals. The main issue here is that the punishment is clearly wrong, and the message is wrong, as the judge seems to think this is paramount to treason, which it isn't.
  
  A crime of conscience is exactly what pardons are supposed to be for - doing what is right regardless of the legality or consequences
  
  Yes, how could we possibly expect the president to pardon someone who did something legally wrong, that defeats the whole point of pardons! /s
  
  Anyway, have fun arguing that someone who metaphorically ran into a burning building to rescue a baby deserves ~~the maximum~~ any punishment for trespassing, that's some real good moral reasoning that will build a just society, for sure /s
  
  e; ftfy
Let's hope he didn't sleep under any bridges, too. That would be what they call a repeat offender.
Exposing a convicted criminal is a crime against the US and its legal foundation? GTFOH.

On the other hand, maybe said “legal foundation” is said to protect those with money and influence and punish those who dare to move beyond the systemic injustices present. Maybe this judge was correct after all.
You'd have thought he was Russian opposition and he had revealed something about Putin!
- You laugh, but the only other 5 year sentence I can think of in this whole situation is Reality Winner, the biggest unspoken hero of the last decade who leaked the Russian Interference information to the press. I guarantee we wouldn't know that happened if it weren't for her. And yet, quoting the wikipedia entry on her: "No one has ever received a longer sentence for leaking classified information to a media outlet"
  
  Now I can name somebody else who has (if the crime was technically different).
I'm being blocked https://edition.cnn.com/browser-blocked (They seem to block "I don't care about cookies" extension. But the internet is becoming unusable because of all the cookie spam!)

Archive link: https://archive.is/eyFmw
- I remember when everything was great on the Internet before the "accept cookies" button 😢
  
  When they took your data without notifying you? What was great about that?
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.

I guess he didn't do a very good job of it.
Honestly, not sure why this is a crime. If I was rich as hell I'd be like "you want my tax returns? why so you can have a crywank?"
- Eh… it’s a crime because he wasn’t even supposed to have access, and in order to get access he had to break the law.
  
  Yeah I don't see any victims here. Also, I love how I can have the exact same opinion as everyone else, yet I'm the one who gets downvoted lol makes sense.
- If I was rich as hell I'd be like "you want my tax returns? why so you can have a crywank?"
  
  That's why Trump didn't release them, he isn't rich as hell

279 comments