Trump tax leak is one small step for the truth – now let’s see the rest
GuardianFeb 09, 2018
Trump Tax Return Leaker Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison
The Facts
Ex-IRS contractor Charles Edward Littlejohn has been sentenced to five years in prison for leaking former Pres. Donald Trump's tax records to news outlets.
The 38-year-old, who had pleaded guilty to unauthorized disclosure of tax returns last October, would also spend three years under supervised release and pay a $5K fine.
The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
Charles Edward Littlejohn did an obvious public service by leaking Donald Trump's tax records. With these out in the public domain, Americans were made aware of the true character of the man sitting in the world's most powerful position. It showed people how bogus his claims were and pricked the aura of his business success.
Pro-Trump narrative
The timing of the first publication of Trump's tax records — right ahead of the presidential debate in 2020 — was enough to understand that this was a hit job. The former president has openly admitted that he availed of legitimate government tax benefits to reduce his dues like any US citizen. Littlejohn must be held accountable for his weaponization of authority.
Nerd narrative
There's a 32% chance that over 40% of US tax filings will be filed using paid tax preparers in 2027, according to the Metaculus prediction community.