IRS Confirms Massive Data Breach
The IRS has confirmed that the taxpayer information of more than 405,000 Americans—including Donald Trump—was leaked under the Biden administration, according to a statement released Thursday by the House Judiciary Committee.
In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), acting IRS Commissioner Douglas O’Donnell acknowledged the significant breach and detailed how the agency has responded to the victims.
“The Internal Revenue Code requires a taxpayer be notified if any person is criminally charged by indictment or information with inspection or disclosure of such taxpayer’s return or return information,” O’Donnell wrote. “The IRS has mailed notifications to 405,427 taxpayers whose returns and/or return information was disclosed by Mr. Littlejohn.”
Former IRS Contractor Behind the Leak
The leak was carried out by Charles Littlejohn, a former IRS contractor who is currently serving a prison sentence in Florida for unlawfully disclosing sensitive tax records.
Initially, the IRS estimated that around 70,000 taxpayers were affected by the leak. However, the new figure—more than five times higher—raises fresh concerns about the scale of the breach and the agency’s transparency.
National Review reported that Littlejohn accessed the IRS archives to obtain confidential tax returns and leaked them to media outlets, including The New York Times and ProPublica. The latter, known for its left-leaning coverage, published detailed reports on the tax practices of wealthy Americans, including Donald Trump, sparking a broader debate on tax fairness and privacy violations.
House Judiciary Committee Blasts the IRS
The House Judiciary Committee expressed frustration over the expanding scope of the breach and accused the Biden administration’s IRS of downplaying the situation.
“The IRS’s admission confirms the Committee’s suspicion and recent reports that show the scope of the leak was much broader than what the Biden Administration’s IRS initially led the public to believe,” the committee wrote on X. “In May 2024, an IRS spokesman stated that ‘[m]ore than 70,000’ taxpayers were affected. We found out that it’s actually over 405,000 taxpayers!”
Victims Left in the Dark
The notification process itself has also faced criticism. According to Morgan Lewis, a legal firm that tracks government disclosures, the initial notices sent to victims lacked crucial specifics about what information was exposed.
“The victim notification letters that the IRS mailed out in April (First Notices) outlined general information about the breach and summarized the taxpayers’ rights as victims,” the firm explained. “However, these First Notices contained no details regarding the data that Littlejohn had disclosed—for example, what specific documents, what specific information, or pertaining to what time period—which has caused frustration for many recipients.”
Unanswered Questions Remain
The IRS has not yet fully responded to Chairman Jordan’s inquiry, and questions remain about how such a large-scale leak occurred and what steps are being taken to prevent future violations.
This revelation comes amid growing concerns about data security within federal agencies and raises bipartisan questions about protecting the personal information of American taxpayers—regardless of their political affiliations.
