FREE CHARLES

LITTLEJOHN!

In 2020 and 2021, a series of bombshell reports by the New York Times and ProPublica exposed the massive scale of tax avoidance by ultra-rich Americans, including proof that during multiple years, many of the nation’s billionaires - including President Donald Trump - paid no tax at all.

Those reports were made possible by Charles Littlejohn, an IRS contractor, who leaked information about the tax returns of Donald Trump and other billionaires to top journalists at those outlets in order to expose this profound injustice.

Trump, importantly, was the first president ever to refuse to disclose this information voluntarily.

In early 2024, after receiving a pointed letter from 25 Republican House members, Federal District Court Judge Ana Reyes sentenced Mr. Littlejohn to a prison term six times the maximum sentence recommended in federal sentencing guidelines.

Please join Patriotic Millionaires and the Revolving Door Project in urging President Biden to commute Charles Littlejohn’s sentence to time served, which will put his punishment in line with similar offences.

Add Your Voice!

Below is a template letter asking President Joe Biden to commute Mr. Littlejohn’s sentence. Please consider sharing it electronically or via snail mail. Thank you!

If you click the button below the template, you will be redirected to a White House form that enables you to contact President Biden. You can copy and paste text from the template when completing the form.

If you’d prefer to mail your letter, feel free to print it out and send it to this address:

The White House
Office of the President
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Biden,

I urge you to commute the sentence of Charles Littlejohn, the former IRS contractor who was sentenced in January 2024 to five years in prison. Mr. Littlejohn pleaded guilty in October 2023 to disclosing the federal tax records of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and other billionaires to news organizations. By leaking this information to reputable journalists, Mr. Littlejohn enabled vital reporting about how the wealthiest people in the United States end up paying less in taxes than public school teachers and firefighters.

Despite performing a valuable public service, Mr. Littlejohn received an unnecessarily harsh punishment. While sentencing guidelines recommended four to 10 months in prison, federal District Judge Ana Reyes gave Mr. Littlejohn the statutory maximum sentence of five years. Judge Reyes argued that Mr. Littlejohn’s actions constituted “an attack on our constitutional democracy” even worse than the deadly assault carried out by January 6 insurrectionists. Frankly, this contention is absurd. Mr. Littlejohn’s effort to expose the extent of tax injustice in the U.S. was aimed at preserving the promise of democracy, which is imperiled by extreme inequality. In contrast, the mob that ransacked the Capitol was trying to prevent Congress from certifying your 2020 election victory.

Meanwhile, President-elect Trump has pledged to pardon individuals who were convicted for participating in his January 6 coup attempt. Notably, many of the rioters received sentences shorter than Mr. Littlejohn’s and shorter than prosecutors requested. It would be a perversion of justice if they are pardoned while Mr. Littlejohn is required to serve his full sentence. Mr. Littlejohn, who began his sentence on May 1, has already spent ample time behind bars. Please, President Biden, show Mr. Littlejohn—a selfless defender of tax fairness and democracy—the grace that he deserves by commuting his sentence to time served.

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