Former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison Monday for leaking tax documents for former President Donald Trump during the 2020 election campaign.

Federal Judge Ana C. Reyes said the defendant “targeted the sitting president of the United States of America, and that is exceptional by any measure.” She said Littlejohn carried out “an attack on our constitutional democracy.”

During the summer of 2020, the defendant leaked Trump’s tax documents to the New York Times. 

Littlejohn was charged with a single count of unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and return information and pleaded guilty last October. Judge Reyes took exception to him only facing one charge and handed down the maximum sentence she could deliver.

This despite the defense requesting a lenient 12-18 month term for Littlejohn. Reyes said she had “no words” for the lack of a more severe prosecution for targeting Trump’s privacy.

The jurist noted that the media likes to say “democracy dies in darkness.” Reyes said it “also dies in lawlessness.” She added, “Trump was under no obligation to expose his returns. People could vote for someone else. They could run against him.” 

Just imagine how much damage the IRS will do with 87,000 additional employees – the House voted to stop those hires, but the Schumer Senate can’t wait to weaponize them against you. https://t.co/FhLyREyAf9

— Rep. Harriet Hageman (@RepHageman) January 30, 2024

In handing down the maximum sentence, Reyes observed the accused did not simply wake up and make a snap judgment. “He made a series of decisions. This court cannot let others view this conduct as acceptable.”

According to federal prosecutors, Littlejohn applied for the position of an IRS consultant in 2019 solely to access and leak Trump’s tax returns. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said the defendant considered the 45th president to be a threat to democracy.

Federal officials said Littlejohn “weaponized his access to unmasked taxpayer data to further his own personal political agenda, believing that he was above the law.”

In a press release, the DOJ said the sentence “should serve as a warning to anyone who is considering emulating Mr. Littlejohn’s actions.”

They noted that a free press is essential to a democratic society, but the defendant went far beyond the bounds of acceptable conduct. Officials said that “stealing and leaking private, personal tax information strips individuals of the legal protection of their most sensitive data.”

In the face of overwhelming Democratic legal persecution, the outcome of the Littlejohn case marked a rare courtroom triumph for the former president.