- cross-posted to:
- usa@lemmy.ml
- cross-posted to:
- usa@lemmy.ml
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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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.
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.
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.
The law is the law. We need to keep acting in good faith or we’re no better than the GOP. I agree with your sentiment but I think he knew exactly what would happen and did not expect to be let off the hook.
I doubt he expected five years though. It’s not like he was making money from what he did or showing classified information that could harm someone.
There’ll be employers lining up to give him a job afterwards.
Whistle-blowers are not very employable.
What about at a whistle making factory, as a tester?
Which means GOP would do it in a heartbeat but we for some reason never could dream of doing so
“some reason”?
Would you mind elaborating?
We aren’t the Sith.
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.
he wouldnt pardon this guy, all his friends would be furious
Nope. It’s a bad move and would be acting like GOP scum.
I miss the days when politicians weren’t afraid to do political things. These days they can’t even pass bills.
How was he not protected under whistleblower laws?
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.
He pled guilty. There wasn’t a jury.
🤔 Who wants to bet they intimidated or threatened him to taking that plea deal?
Intimidation and threats is the whole plea deal system by definition. “We’re going to charge you with all these crimes and get you 20 years if you don’t plead guilty to jaywalking”. Doesn’t matter if you have a strong case, or if they don’t have a case at all, when they have even a weak case to ruin your life. As my attorney (long story, civil case) puts it “once something gets to the jury, it can always go either way”.
But, as the bootlickers will say, the courts will be overwhelmed if EVERY person we lock in a cage has their day in court!!! They can cry me a fucking river.
There will never be justice in our country as long as there’s a plea deal system.
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.
The United States’ legal system is regularly enforced against the poor and the weak. It is serving its actual purpose
Wow… You’re everywhere today beating your drum, aren’t you? How soon until your manifesto drops in this thread?
Yes, the justice system has and is used disproportionately against the poor and maligned. The work to overcome that continues - your diatribes about the “obvious result of late-stage neoliberalism policies” notwithstanding.
Not sure what you’re upset about. Care to elaborate?
Some people will stop at nothing to defend the 1980’s crime tv status-quo where police are the good guys where no broken law is ever justified except their broken law
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.
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.
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.
Okay. Now pretend for a moment we are talking about the real planet Earth with the existing legislators of it’s actual countries.
You get approximately 0% of the change you never seek.
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.
So, they gave him the maximum sentence, and the pro-Trump judge was pissed the sentence couldn’t be any higher? What a piece of shit.
I can’t speak for whether the judge was pro-Trump. It doesn’t sound (from other replies) like that was the case.
I think it’s more that the everyone in the System (from prosecutors to judges) have a strong dislike for whistleblower crimes.
Apparently Ana Reyes was appointed by Joe Biden. You can’t really call her a fascist, but her delusional liberal view of the world make her an indirect but effective supporter of fascism: If the inequality caused by the insane concentration of wealth and the resulting systemic corruption and injustice is not addressed, it causes degradation of material conditions and creates a fertile ground for fascism. But this they don’t want to hear.
In my view the wealth inequality violates the intent of the constitution and Littlejon is a political prisoner.
Could have done worse. Whistleblowers generally deserve significant leniency though I feel. Especially for a crime where no one was injured.
He got the maximum sentence under §7213
I mean, they could have disappeared him or thrown in a bunch of bullshit charges. But for what he did, he got as bad as it gets. The DOJ page even said they sentenced him so harshly to send a warning to people who consider repeating his behavior.
Whistleblowers are always punished harshly on purpose.
Whistleblowers are always punished harshly on purpose.
yeah we gotta fix that.
Wait. Was this a felony? Okay, then I guess he’s not getting off lightly. Sure, he’s in prison for only 5 years, but after he gets out he’s still a felon. That means no voting, no gun ownership, no passport so he can’t leave the country, ever.
Wait, felons can’t get a passport so they leave the US? That kind of makes them political prisoners.
I thought the same as you, but it seems it’s not so bad. You can vote after a felony sentence in the US, but maybe not right away and sometimes you have to settle court fines first.
Guns take longer and maybe never if your crime was violent or involved gun laws.
For passports, it seems most certain to be a no if your crime involved trafficking, smuggling, or anything to do with another country.
I think this guy can expect these rights restored after his sentence. But you’re still right that the conviction will likely be a continuing problem in other ways. I doubt he could be hired as CPA or anywhere else involving confidential records.
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.
No the judge was far more extreme then that:
“What you did in attacking the sitting president of the United States was an attack on our constitutional democracy,” Reyes said. “We’re talking about someone who … pulled off the biggest heist in IRS history.” 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.” “The fact that he did what he did and he’s facing one felony count, I have no words for,”
She practically admitted that her thinking was politically motivated. And that even though democracy in the US was and still is in danger and wealth inequality severely undermines the democratic vote of citizens, there is absolutely no excuse to resist against tyranny using illegal means. She’s not a fascist, but she’d make an excellent nazi. Yes Godwin’s law but that is how that worked. If Trump wins again democracy in the US could literally end but she sees no morally justifiable reason to resist.
PS: Or she just doesn’t understand that extreme wealth inequality and rise of fascism are linked, and you cannot fight the one without fighting the other.
Just like the sentencing for the insurrectionists right? Oh wait…
True, however, power concedes nothing without a demand. The only thing the powerful fear is losing that power. You can call for higher scrutiny of the upper class and corporations all you like, but they won’t do it unless forced to. And they’re also the ones who write national policy, so good luck writing a law to force them to do anything. It will be shoved into a shredder the second it enters the DC city limits.
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?
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.
So, no, you don’t have any evidence that this judge has done anything wrong, nor do you know that the ruling was especially harsh. Figured.
Does professional trolling pay well these days?
No argument, empty ad hominem. It’s amazing that people still don’t realize how much this reveals how little faith they have in their own argument.
Wow, you just keep going, it’s truly impressive at this point.
Don’t be too impressed as it’s easy to keep going when you argue the facts and the other person can’t do anything but sling insults. This is especially true when they aren’t even good at slinging insults.
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.
Thanks for actually addressing the point. Where did you get this information from? Not that I don’t trust you, I’m just curious to read more.
Weird. I SWORE I linked this. Maybe it was a different reply.
As for the exact terminology, I got the crime he pleaded guilty of from the propaganda press junket from the DOJ on the matter.
Thanks appreciate it. Considering he got the harsher end of the spectrum, I’m going to look into this further.
When you do, you’ll find out he did more things (more folks’ tax returns, though he didn’t publish those AFAIR). I’m sure he pled to this crime because of those other things. But that doesn’t really justify maximum sentence for what he was found guilty of.
But that doesn’t really justify maximum sentence for what he was found guilty of.
Considering I was planning on looking into this, can you explain your reasoning? I could easily be convinced one way or another.
He got the maximum sentence because he was unrepentant of the crime, and because anything less than that would seem biased. I didn’t see any mention of fines, maybe he got off easy there?
If you check the original article there’s a bit at the bottom where the prosecution wanted to charge him for much more than just one Unauthorized Disclosure
I thought when I read the article that the judge was upset that the prosecution didn’t go for more.
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.
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”
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.
“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.
The irony of basing your comment on a fictional character
Please elaborate on how that meets the definition of “irony.”
Because it’s like a traffic jam when you’re already late. Or a no smoking sign on your cigarette break. Obviously.
That makes sense. Pretty similar to rain on your wedding day as well
Do you know what allegories are
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.
You’d have thought he was Russian opposition and he had revealed something about Putin!
Can you imagine the storm in truth social if Biden pardoned this guy lmao, cmon Biden!
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.
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?
Rapist Brock Allen Turner, who is going by Allen Turner now.
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
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.
Careful guys, he’s a hero
Funny thing is that probably in prison they will clap when he enters his cell
Nah ah… Unless snitches get bitches …
/S
🫡
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.
Snot Flickerman
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.
Sweet Jesus the amount of extremist propaganda that’s gets peddled these days is mind boggling. To think people like this think they’re better than the people brainwashed by Fox and friends…
Then again… We’re on Lemmy lmfao.
You think every cop, judge, and prosector ain’t corrupt?
Reads like satire, probably as serious as the Herman Cain award lmfao.
The cognitive dissonance of your average Lemming is staggering.
The entire system is tilted and reforms are needed.
Do you anticipate broad generalizations to overlook individual nuances & undermine constructive discussion?
Or is it important to cast blame upon each and every member of a broken system, regardless of whether they may personally be activists for our cause?
I always call it a legal system, because theres sure as hell no justice in it.
Ooh, that’s good. I’ll update my vocabulary, the way I did when I started referring to people as “pro birth”, because they certainly don’t deserve to be called “pro life”.
pro forced birth even
That’s certainly easier than saying anti-post-natalists.
This is America.
Oh I know. Littlejohn committed the real type of crime- financial.
Judge: I asked my caddie’s chauffeur what a bank was, and he said it was a place poor people store money that isn’t properly invested. Therefor, robbing a bank is tantamount to that most heinous of crimes; theft of money!
Good ole Judge Whitey
Financial crime against the rich, specifically.
What other kind is there? Stealing from the poor isn’t crime, it’s just business.
Don’t catch you slippin’ now
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.
