The Internal Revenue Service worker who leaked the tax records of former president Donald Trump and thousands of other wealthy Americans was sentenced to five years in prison Monday.

Charles Littlejohn pleaded guilty in October to disclosing the income tax returns even though he lacked authority to do so.

What You Need To Know

  • IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison Monday

  • Littlejohn pleaded guilty in October to disclosing the income tax returns of former president Donald Trump and thousands of other wealthy Americans

  • Prosecutors said Littlejohn abused his position for more than two years by leaking private financial data to news outlets

  • The judge sald Littlejohn's actions were "an attack on our constitutional democracy"

Prosecutors recommended, and the judge agreed, that Littlejohn should serve the maximum sentence allowable.

For more than two years, they said the IRS consultant abused his position by leaking private financial data to several news outlets, including ProPublica.

Prosecutors said Littlejohn applied to work with the IRS “with the intention of accessing and disclosing tax returns” and “weaponized his access to unmasked taxpayer data to further his own personal, political agenda.”

Calling it the “biggest heist in IRS history” and “an attack on our constitutional democracy,” U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes compared Littlejohn’s actions to those who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

At his sentencing hearing, Littlejohn reportedly told the court he had “acted out of a sincere but misguided belief that I was serving the public.”