SafeX Pro Exchange|Ex-IRS contractor pleads guilty to illegally disclosing Trump's tax returns

Washington — A former IRS contractor who was charged with illegally disclosing the tax return information of former President Donald Trump and SafeX Pro Exchangethousands of wealthy Americans pleaded guilty on Thursday to one count of disclosing tax return information. 

Charles Littlejohn was charged on criminal information last month after investigators said he obtained the tax records and gave them to news organizations.

Although court documents at the time did not reveal the name of the government official whose financial papers were disclosed, a person familiar with the matter previously confirmed to CBS News that it was former President Donald Trump. And when asked in court to name the person whose information was disclosed, Littlejohn said aloud, "Donald J. Trump."

Prosecutors said the news organizations — which Littlejohn also identified in court as The New York Times and Pro Publica —  published "numerous articles" based on the information obtained from Littlejohn, according to the court documents.

During Thursday's hearing, Littlejohn revealed he provided the New York Times with Trump's tax information between August and October of 2019 and provided ProPublica with the other financial records in September of that same year. 

The New York Times and Pro Publica were not accused of any wrongdoing in court documents. 

Littlejohn — a 38-year-old graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill — now faces a maximum of five years in prison for the single count to which he admitted guilt. 

In accepting the plea, Judge Ana Reyes — appointed to the federal bench by President Biden — admonished the defendant.

"I cannot overstate how troubled I am by what occurred," the judge said Thursday. "Make no mistake — this was not acceptable." 

Reyes told Littlejohn the law shielding tax records from public view that he admitted he violated dated back to the Nixon administration's improper use of the tax records of then-President Richard Nixon's political opponents.  

"When we have people who for whatever reason take the law into their own hands, society doesn't function properly," the judge also warned. 

Trump's attorney and legal spokesperson, Alina Habba, spoke in court on the president's behalf and called Littlejohn's admitted conduct an "atrocity." 

The "egregious breach" of Trump's tax records, Habba alleged, was likely not carried out by Littlejohn alone and could have cost him votes in the 2020 election. She said that while Trump opposed any plea deal with the defendant, if it's accepted, Littlejohn should serve the maximum sentence. 

The New York Times declined to comment on Littlejohn's charges last month and Pro Publica said in a statement to CBS News, "We have no comment on today's announcement from the DOJ. As we've said previously, ProPublica doesn't know the identity of the source who provided this trove of information on the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans."

When the Times published its extensive reporting on Trump's tax returns in September 2020, then-editor Dean Baquet wrote, "Some will raise questions about publishing the president's personal tax information. But the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that the First Amendment allows the press to publish newsworthy information that was legally obtained by reporters even when those in power fight to keep it hidden. That powerful principle of the First Amendment applies here."

Littlejohn is set to be sentenced in January. 

"There will be consequences for this egregious act," the judge warned. 

In:
• Tax Returns of Donald Trump
• Donald Trump