President Joe Biden is reportedly considering clemency for Charles Littlejohn, the former IRS contractor convicted of stealing and leaking the private tax returns of thousands of Americans, including President-elect Donald Trump. Critics argue that such a move would be yet another abuse of the pardon power under Biden’s administration.
Littlejohn’s actions, labeled as the biggest theft in IRS history, resulted in the dissemination of confidential tax records to The New York Times and other outlets. Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee, sentenced Littlejohn to five years in prison, though he was allowed to plead guilty to a single felony charge despite stealing thousands of tax returns.
Prominent law professors from institutions like Emory, Indiana, Michigan, and Missouri have petitioned Biden to reduce Littlejohn’s sentence to just ten months, citing the public’s “right to know” about the tax filings of wealthy Americans. Their letter, emphasizing economic egalitarianism and referencing tax transparency in countries like Finland and Norway, has drawn sharp criticism.
“These ivory tower academics think that the personal financial information contained in tax filings… should not be confidential,” critics argue. “It should be available to every Tom, Dick, and Harry – and their neighbors – to peruse and talk about.”
Opponents of clemency note the severe impact of Littlejohn’s crimes. Taxpayer privacy, a cornerstone of the U.S. tax system, is protected under 26 U.S.C. §7213(a)(1), which imposes up to five years in prison for disclosing tax return information. Legal precedents, including opinions from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, have reinforced the necessity of confidentiality for a self-reporting tax system.
Paul Sperry of RealClearInvestigations reports that the IRS continues to grapple with the fallout from Littlejohn’s actions, sending thousands of letters to affected taxpayers and acknowledging the full extent of the disclosures remains unknown.
Critics view potential clemency as a continuation of controversial pardons under Biden, including his decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden. “Littlejohn doesn’t deserve clemency or a pardon,” they contend. “Any such grant that lets him out of prison or reduces his sentence… will just be another sign of Biden’s contempt for the rule of law.”
As Biden faces mounting pressure from both sides, any move to grant clemency to Littlejohn would likely intensify debates over taxpayer privacy, accountability, and the limits of executive clemency.