this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2023
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An IRS contractor pled guilty Thursday to leaking the private tax information of former President Donald Trump and thousands of other wealthy Americans to the news media.

Charles Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, D.C., faces a maximum of five years in prison, the Department of Justice said. Sentencing is slated for late January.

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[–] OrteilGenou@lemmy.world 175 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Free him and audit everyone

[–] gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world 70 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I think the paperwork to start that process is here - https://www.justice.gov/pardon/apply-pardon

Incidentally, they might try to bullshit their way out of a direct answer by saying some misinformation about how "there is a five-year waiting period before a person can apply for pardon," but just remind them that's not how it worked for Michael Flynn and a whole bunch of other people under the last administration. Whether or not this gets done comes down solely to the President's willingness to order it.

[–] gibmiser@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Find me the petition and I'll sign it

[–] Zoboomafoo@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago

Put me on the jury and I'll nullify it

[–] hackitfast@lemmy.world 139 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The fact that this guy is going to jail by January but Trump isn't even close, means something is very wrong with our justice system.

[–] FireTower@lemmy.world 33 points 1 year ago (1 children)

He took a plea deal so they don't have to spend time bringing the case to trial.

[–] ofcourse@lemmy.ml 65 points 1 year ago (1 children)

He took the plea deal probably because he can’t afford a lengthy legal battle, decline to pay his lawyers, getting court dates shifted, appointing his own judge,… There is an entirely separate US justice system for the rich and powerful.

[–] FireTower@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Or there might have been more than enough evidence to convict him but the prosecutor offered him a deal with less time served in exchange for making the process easier on the courts.

You can fight a case through trial but if you've got bad facts you've wasted your time and money (unless you've got a PD) plus might just end up serving a greater sentence.

That's not to say that having the capacity to afford serval attorneys on retainer isn't beneficial, just that there is such a thing as a good plea deal when you're stuck with bad facts.

[–] dragonflyteaparty@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Or the cops told him that they had plenty of evidence to convict, scared him with a lengthy prison sentence, and he chose a plea deal because he viewed it as exactly that, a deal for a lesser punishment.

[–] cmbabul@lemmy.world 104 points 1 year ago

We should treat this man like the subway passengers treated Spider-Man after he saved their lives

[–] Illuminostro@lemmy.world 73 points 1 year ago

Guilty of being moral and ethical. Billionaires should not exist.

[–] Hello_there@kbin.social 64 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] Alteon@lemmy.world 38 points 1 year ago

For real. I'll fund the fuck out of this dude. We need more people like him that are willing to do the right thing.

Seriously, I'll sign any petition or donate to any gofundme for this guy.

[–] magnetosphere@kbin.social 58 points 1 year ago

It’s only fair to give him the same punishment that one of those “wealthy Americans” would receive, right?

[–] scytale@lemm.ee 55 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)
[–] dingleberry@discuss.tchncs.de 41 points 1 year ago

That's called a whistleblower. You know those people you put behind bars.

[–] FabledAepitaph@lemmy.world 40 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Jury nullification. Stand in solidarity.

[–] FabledAepitaph@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago

Although, if he plead guilty already, nm lol

[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 38 points 1 year ago

A hero! Now that the news knows the information that the IRS has, time to push to properly audit them to pay their fair share.

[–] cyborganism@lemmy.ca 38 points 1 year ago

Fucking legend

[–] Gork@lemm.ee 31 points 1 year ago

The message is clear. Don't mess with rich people's money.

Everyone else? lol nah you'll just get audited.

[–] DeathWearsANecktie@lemm.ee 23 points 1 year ago

Chad move by the IRS consultant

[–] iMastari@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

The hero we needed.

[–] d3lta19@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 year ago

I can't believe he backed up the info on an ipod. Didn't realize those still existed.

[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

If I were in the jury I would simply say this man did no crime.

[–] ganksy@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Robinhood's right hand man!

Littlejohn gonna do Littlejohn things! Ya love to see it.

[–] RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Unaware of how he evaded protections put in place by the IRS...

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

What protections?

[–] kevinbacon@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Is there a link to the records database?