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submitted 7 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

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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[-] pinkdrunkenelephants@lemmy.cafe 28 points 7 months ago

How was he not protected under whistleblower laws?

[-] aidan@lemmy.world 32 points 7 months ago

You mean the ones that protected Snowden, Assange, and Manning?

[-] pinkdrunkenelephants@lemmy.cafe 7 points 7 months ago

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.

[-] beardown@lemm.ee 9 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

The United States' legal system is regularly enforced against the poor and the weak. It is serving its actual purpose

[-] Railing5132@lemmy.world -4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

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.

[-] beardown@lemm.ee 3 points 7 months ago

Not sure what you're upset about. Care to elaborate?

[-] abraxas@sh.itjust.works 5 points 7 months ago

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

[-] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 21 points 7 months ago

He wasn't reporting anything illegal - just wrong.

[-] DrPop@lemmy.world 8 points 7 months ago

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.

[-] pinkdrunkenelephants@lemmy.cafe 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

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.

[-] abraxas@sh.itjust.works 2 points 7 months ago

He pled guilty. There wasn't a jury.

[-] pinkdrunkenelephants@lemmy.cafe 3 points 7 months ago

🤔 Who wants to bet they intimidated or threatened him to taking that plea deal?

[-] abraxas@sh.itjust.works 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

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.

this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2024
877 points (98.7% liked)

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