Charles Littlejohn, a former IRS contractor, leaked the tax returns of the rich to show the public how the uber-wealthy game our tax code. Now he’s facing potential prison time. They’ve nabbed the wrong criminal.
by Guthrie Scrimgeour, Jacobin
In June 2021, the investigative reporting outlet ProPublica began publishing “The Secret IRS Files,” a series of articles analyzing a leaked cache of the wealthiest Americans’ tax documents.
The series was shocking. Over the course of more than a year, it laid out in detail the methods by which the uber-rich — with their armies of accountants, lawyers, and friendly politicians — rig the tax code to their benefit. In many cases, the documents revealed, billionaires pay a lower effective tax rate than their working-class employees, or pay no taxes at all.

In a functioning democracy, these revelations would spark meaningful changes in the tax code, and the person responsible for the leaks would be lauded as a hero for alerting the public to massive government dysfunction. Instead, President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice, badgered by congressional Republicans, elected to prosecute the whistleblower.
Recent Posts
New Poll: Democratic Socialism Is Now Mainstream
September 17, 2025
Take Action Now A national poll from Jacobin, DSA Fund, and Data for Progress finds broad support for democratic socialist leaders and left-wing…
Gerrymandering & The War On Democracy
September 17, 2025
Take Action Now It’s one piece of a much larger democratic breakdown.By RJ Eskow, The Zero Hour Report A few days before the Charlie Kirk…
What Happened To Silverio Villegas González
September 17, 2025
Take Action Now Immigration agents shot and killed an unarmed 38-year-old father outside Chicago on Friday—and their initial narrative of events was…
Talk World Radio: Sam Rosenthal On The Occupation Of DC And What’s The Matter With Democrats
September 16, 2025
Take Action Now War, peace, and politics with RootsAction’s Political Director Sam RosenthalBy David Swanson and Sam Rosenthal, Talk World Radio…