Tax experts say IRS whistleblower Charles Littlejohn’s leaks provided a public service — and fear Trump will take retribution.
By Matt Sledge, The Intercept
Earlier this month, a group of professors from the normally stodgy world of tax law wrote to President Joe Biden calling on him to free the IRS contractor who leaked the tax returns of Donald Trump and thousands of millionaires and billionaires.
Charles Littlejohn’s five-year sentence was six times the recommended maximum, the professors said, despite the fact that Littlejohn’s disclosures helped shed light on a broken tax system that allows Warren Buffett to pay a lower tax rate than his secretary.
With Biden winding down his time in office, Littlejohn’s advocates, including tax code reformers from the groups Revolving Door Project and Patriotic Millionaires, are worried for the incarcerated IRS consultant. They’re calling on Biden to commute Littlejohn’s sentence before it is too late and he is forced to spend Trump’s second term in prison at risk of retribution.
“Trump has already promised to pardon January 6 insurrectionists who are convicted,” said Kenny Stancil, a senior researcher at the Revolving Door Project. “It would be a perversion of justice if they walk free while Littlejohn spends over four more years in prison.”
Stancil’s Revolving Door Project, Patriotic Millionaires, and the group of tax professors led by Reuven Avi-Yonah of the University of Michigan — who has called Littlejohn a “public hero”— are leading the charge for clemency.
The groups have not called on Biden to pardon Littlejohn, noting that he pleaded guilty, but they did emphasize the civic-minded purpose behind his leaks.
Recent Posts
Are We Willing to Actually Tax Billionaires or Only Willing to Talk About It?
Take Action Now The question before us in California is not complicated. Are we going to stand with the three million people—our friends and…
The Great American State Fair Is a Great Trumpian Disaster
Take Action Now The debacle on the National Mall captures an administration in free fall—and a president who is only interested in celebrating…
The Billionaire Money Behind New Centrist Pledge
Take Action Now Promise to America won’t disclose who is funding its new anti-socialist pledge. But the group is closely tied to the Welcome…
Climate Activists Take on a New Foe: Data Centers
Take Action Now Concerns about greenhouse gas emissions, air and water pollution, and social justice fit organically into the growing anti-data…