Trump's Tax Records Allegedly Mishandled By IRS Contractor, Who Faces Up To 5 Years In Prison

An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) contractor found himself at the center of a legal storm on Friday, after federal prosecutors announced charges of illicitly accessing and distributing the tax returns of a notable government figure.

What Happened: While the identity of the official remains undisclosed in legal documents, sources have hinted that the person could be former President Donald Trump.

The contractor, Charles Edward Littlejohn, collaborated with the IRS between 2018 and 2020. During this period, Littlejohn misappropriated tax data related to a specific "Public Official A" and shared this sensitive information with a media house, according to CNN. 

The tax records in question are believed to belong to Trump, as per sources who spoke to CNN. 

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But the allegations don't stop there. Littlejohn is also suspected of robbing IRS data from numerous affluent Americans, with that data tracing back over a decade and a half. This trove of information was purportedly dispatched to another media entity.

While The New York Times and ProPublica released stories about the tax records of Trump and other individuals around the time of Littlejohn's alleged act, court documents do not name the publications, CNN noted. Neither publication has been implicated in any wrongdoing.

Currently, Littlejohn faces charges related to unauthorized dissemination of tax returns and return information. A conviction could land him behind bars for up to five years. 

When approached by CNN, ProPublica stated it remains in the dark regarding the identity of the individual who provided it with the tax details of America's richest.

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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.