As President Joe Biden’s term nears its conclusion, his administration is reportedly considering commuting the sentence of Charles Littlejohn, the former Internal Revenue Service (IRS) contractor convicted of leaking sensitive tax records of wealthy Americans, including then-President Donald Trump. According to the Justice Department’s pardon database, Littlejohn’s clemency application is under formal review, adding a new layer of controversy to an already polarizing presidency.

This development comes on the heels of Biden’s unprecedented use of presidential clemency powers. His record number of pardons and commutations has included high-profile cases, such as those involving his son, Hunter Biden, who faced charges of tax evasion and firearm violations. Littlejohn’s case, however, stands out due to its significant implications for privacy, journalism, and the politicization of tax information.

Charles Littlejohn was sentenced to the maximum penalty of five years in prison in late 2024, following his guilty plea in October of that year. Prosecutors described the case as the largest theft of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records in history. Littlejohn admitted to stealing the tax records of “thousands” of prominent Americans and leaking them to media outlets, including The New York Times and ProPublica.

The leaked information gained national attention when The New York Times published a 2020 article revealing that Trump paid only $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017 and paid nothing in most other years due to reporting significant financial losses. ProPublica later expanded on this data in 2021, publishing a series of articles detailing the tax practices of America’s wealthiest individuals.

The revelations sparked a firestorm of political and public debate, particularly given their timing in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential........

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