House Republicans announced legislation Thursday to double the maximum prison time to 10 years for anyone convicted of leaking secret taxpayer information, saying the current penalty wasn’t strong enough to prevent the unprecedented leak of President Trump’s taxes.
The bill also declares every leaked return a separate and distinct offense, which would mean those who leak multiple returns could face cascading penalties.
Both provisions come after an IRS contractor was sentenced to just five years in prison for the shocking leak of tax information for Mr. Trump and thousands of the country’s wealthiest taxpayers.
Prosecutors agreed to a plea deal with Edward Charles Littlejohn for a single count of leaking secret taxpayer information. He earned the maximum five-year sentence for that offense, which Republicans said seemed incredibly low for that kind of monumental breach.
“No American should fear that their sensitive tax information might be unlawfully disclosed to another party or made public without their consent,” said Rep. Jason Smith, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. “Increasing the maximum fine and imprisonment period for unauthorized disclosure of taxpayer information will help deter individuals from violating the trust of American taxpayers.”
According to court documents, Littlejohn took a job with an IRS contractor intent on using his access to get a look at Mr. Trump’s tax information.
He downloaded it and provided it to The New York Times, which published a lengthy analysis of the president’s finances.
Littlejohn then downloaded information on some of the country’s wealthiest people and provided that to ProPublica for a series of stories examining how much they paid in taxes.
IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in February that tens of thousands of taxpayers were violated in the breach, sparking questions about why the Justice Department settled for a plea agreement involving only a single count.
Littlejohn had asked the judge in his case to show leniency, casting himself as a digital-era Robin Hood stealing data from the privileged to “benefit society.” He also blamed his behavior on the stress from a medical diagnosis for his father.
Republicans, including Mr. Smith, had called for Littlejohn to face the full five years, the maximum penalty allowed.
Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, announced a probe into the Justice Department’s charging decision, saying prosecutors went soft on Littlejohn by striking a plea agreement with just a single count.
Judge Ana Reyes, who presided over the case, also expressed surprise over federal prosecutors’ decision.
“The fact that he is facing one felony count, I have no words for,” she said.
Mr. Werfel said his agency has patched vulnerabilities that allowed Littlejohn to download the data.
“If this type of activity happened today, the risk of it succeeding is much, much, much lower,” he said.
The New York Times published the Trump tax information just ahead of the 2020 election. The Justice Department didn’t bring charges against Littlejohn until nearly three years later, in September 2023.
In addition to doubling the maximum prison time, the GOP bill would increase the maximum fine per violation from $5,000 to $250,000.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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