The Ounabara Vocational School in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is one of the best ways to increase Ichiban’s personality stats. As long as you can answer a few simple questions‚ you can boost your Confidence‚ Passion‚ and more. Some of the questions aren’t that simple though‚ so that’s where this guide comes in. In order to pass a test‚ you need to answer at least three out of five questions correctly. Each quiz has a pool of 10 questions that it can pull from‚ so you can’t just retake a test after failing it and magically know all the answers. All Vocational School Quizzes in Infinite Wealth Sports Proficiency Hawaii Proficiency Tier 2 Hawaii Proficiency Tier 1 Marine Life Alcohol Expertise World Landmarks Muscular Science Gardening Proficiency Underworld Studies Sega Proficiency Tier 2 Sega Proficiency Tier 1 Honolulu City Proficiency Gem Proficiency Sujimon Mastery Mathematics ...

From her bright red lips to her pale‚ porcelain skin‚ Queen Elizabeth I is arguably one of the most recognized monarchs in English history. But her iconic look‚ particularly her white makeup‚ hid a dark and deadly secret‚ something that historians believe led to her death at 69 years old. You’ll have to keep reading to learn the truth. When Elizabeth I took the throne on November 17‚ 1558... Source

Nobody knows how much of an impact somebody will have until they make it‚ but it’s also true that some people are so ahead of their time that they aren’t fully appreciated until they’re gone. And that’s especially true when they rise to prominence in a time when they’re not likely to be accepted for who they really are. And while actor and comedian Paul Lynde was deeply conscious of the time he... Source

Roman Catholic Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington condemned President Joe Biden’s promotion of abortion at a Virginia rally on Tuesday evening. Burbidge spoke out following the president’s rally in Manassas where Biden advocated for codifying Roe v. Wade into law. Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris condemned Republican efforts to protect the unborn as they spoke before a massive “RESTORE ROE” banner. Biden repeatedly criticized former President Donald Trump for appointing Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade‚ telling his audience that Trump thinks he won’t be held accountable for the massive pro-life victory. “But guess what?” Biden asked the crowd. “I’m betting he’s wrong. I’m betting you won’t forget.” The president describes himself as a devout Catholic‚ though he heads the most pro-abortion administration in United States history‚ supporting unrestricted abortion up until birth. The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is a crime against human life. “It is incredibly devastating to know President Biden would place ‘choice’ over his sacred duty to protect life‚” Burbidge said in a statement. The bishop emphasized that Biden’s rally took place just four miles away from the pro-life pregnancy center Manassas Mother of Mercy Free Medical Clinic‚ through which Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington offers free resources‚ support‚ and care to pregnant mothers and their babies. President Joe Biden speaks at a ”Reproductive Freedom Campaign Rally” at George Mason University on Jan. 23 in Manassas‚ Virginia. (Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) “In the year after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision‚ the Diocese of Arlington delivered $877‚000 in free medical care to more than 1‚000 women‚” Burbidge said. “Going further‚ the diocese also provided rent and utilities assistance‚ nearly 400‚000 diapers‚ and 4‚000 cans of formula to families in need.” The Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision effectively overturned Roe v. Wade. The bishop of Arlington admonished Biden that “taking the life of an innocent child is never a ‘choice.'” “Women who are facing unexpected or difficult pregnancies deserve assistance that affirms and supports life—not destroy[s] it‚” he said. “Abortion remains the preeminent civil rights issue of our time‚ yet‚ just yesterday‚ the Biden administration announced renewed efforts to increase access to medically unsafe prescription abortion pills. This is clearly not about women’s health.” Burbidge concluded by promising‚ “The Diocese of Arlington and the entire pro-life movement will remain steadfast in ensuring parents facing unexpected or challenging pregnancies have the support they need to choose life for their unborn children.” Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.  The post Virginia Bishop Condemns ‘Devout Catholic’ Joe Biden’s Abortion Rally appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The U.S. military is at risk of being unable to defend America’s national interests against foes such as China‚ Russia‚ and Iran‚ concludes The Heritage Foundation’s new Index of U.S. Military Strength. “This is the inevitable result of years of prolonged deployments‚ underfunding‚ poorly defined priorities‚ wildly shifting security policies‚ exceedingly poor discipline in program execution‚ and a profound lack of seriousness across the national security establishment even as threats to U.S. interests have surged‚” the report says.  The report‚ titled “Decade of Decline: The Need to Restore America’s Military Power‚” is the 10th edition of the Index of U.S. Military Strength. Heritage began issuing the annual assessment in 2015 as a report card of sorts for the state of military power and readiness.  “What do we do to answer 10 years of decline?” Sen. Roger Wicker‚ R-Miss.‚ the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee‚ asked during remarks Wednesday about the index at Heritage’s Capitol Hill headquarters.  As a possible answer‚ Wicker cited former President Ronald Reagan’s call to spend 5% of the nation’s gross domestic product on building up the military. “I think we are going to have to go big‚” Wicker said‚ later adding: “Increasing our defense budget by 3 to 5% I do not think is enough.”  The Mississippi Republican said he worries that lawmakers in Congress are complacent.  “We are now living in the most dangerous moment since World War II‚” Wicker said. “People call it Cold War II. We need to be reminded of that.”  Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts thanked Wicker and other lawmakers but in his own remarks said‚ “Congress has failed the American people.” “We don’t celebrate that. But we are willing to highlight it so that this changes‚” Roberts said. “Our military is weak and unprepared for conflict‚” he said‚ adding later: “It’s bad news that comes from an utter lack of innovation. An utter lack of willingness to make tough policy decisions‚ not just [for] the national defense but across the entire federal budget.” China’s ‘Comprehensive and Daunting’ Challenge Heritage’s new report assesses China as the “most comprehensive and daunting national security challenge” to U.S. interests.  The index says: The Chinese military can no longer be viewed as a distant competitor. China has begun to field indigenous aircraft carriers and advanced missile technology. It is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal and conducting live-fire exercises and mock blockades around Taiwan. If current trends persist‚ the gap between the Chinese and U.S. militaries will likely narrow further‚ and the idea that China might surpass U.S. capabilities in some fields will seem far less implausible. The index scores China as “aggressive” in its provocative behavior and “formidable” in capability. Chinese President Xi Jinping is a committed communist‚ something that could work to the advantage of the United States‚ Wicker said.  “Xi Jinping is not only a brutal dictator and the author of genocide on a large scale‚ but he’s also a true communist‚ he is a true Marxist‚” Wicker said‚ “and as such‚ one of the good bits of news out of the People’s Republic of China is that China’s economy is the one black mark against its strategic strength. He is running the country into the ground.”  But Wicker noted that China’s capacity to build warships is 232 times that of America.  “There is one thing going really well in Communist China and that is their military buildup. They’ve had a decade of rejuvenation‚” he said.  Russia ‘Hostile and Formidable’ The U.S. decision to shoulder a large burden to defend  Ukraine against Russia contributed to the decline of the military‚ Heritage’s new index says.   “In 2023‚ this has been compounded by the cost of U.S. support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s assault‚ which is further exacerbated by the limited willingness of allies in Europe to shoulder a greater share of the burden‚” it says.  The report assesses Russia as “hostile‚” with a “formidable” capability: Although Russia has the military capability to harm and (in the case of its nuclear arsenal) to pose an existential threat to the U.S.‚ it has not yet conclusively demonstrated the intent to do so. Nevertheless‚ especially in view of its war against Ukraine‚ Russia remains a significant threat to America’s interests and allies in the European region. Russia may not be the threat to U.S. global interests that the Soviet Union was during the Cold War‚ but it does pose challenges to a range of America’s interests and those of its allies. Where Military Branches Stand The aggregate score for America’s major military branches is “weak‚” the index concludes.   Only the Marine Corps gained a positive score of “strong.” However‚ the report notes that “the Corps is a one-war force‚ and its overall strength is therefore not sufficient to compensate for the shortfalls of its larger fellow services.” In the worst shape is the Air Force‚ which the report ranks “very weak.”  It ranks the Navy and relatively new Space Force as “weak” and the Army as “marginal.” The U.S. nuclear arsenal also got the “marginal” designation.  “With respect to nuclear capabilities‚ if the United States should need to deploy nuclear weapons‚ the escalation into nuclear conflict would seem to imply that handling such a crisis would challenge even a fully ready Joint Force at its current size and equipped with modern weapons‚” Heritage’s report says.  The military has a problem with the accountability of its leaders‚ said retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg‚ who was national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence and chief of staff for the National Security Council during the Trump administration. “We need to really look at our leadership and the amount of leadership we have and what they are really doing‚” Kellogg said. “I’ll give you one simple word: accountability. Where is the accountability? We lost a 20-year war in Afghanistan. Who was held accountable for all the mistakes we made in the military? We have made them‚ we just haven’t owned up to them.” The retired general also said the military has become quite bureaucratic and lacks an overall strategy.  “My greatest fear is that the current commander in chief does not have the will‚” Kellogg said‚ referring to President Joe Biden. “If you don’t have the political will‚ you can have all the capability and capacity in the world. But if you are not willing to use it‚ it’s worthless.” Middle East and Iranian-Sponsored Terrorism Heritage’s new report warns of the growing threat from Iran as a “nuclear threshold state controlling a constellation of terrorist groups.” “The Oct. 7 attack on Israel and subsequent Iranian-sponsored attacks on U.S. forces in the region significantly enhance the risk of escalation‚” the report says. “This risk represents an unprecedented range of challenges beyond our capacity and the capacity of our partners and allies to address threats to global energy and trade.” The index notes that the Middle East accounts for 31% of the world’s oil production‚ 18% of gas production‚ 48% of proven oil reserves‚ and 40% of proven gas reserves. “Although the region’s overall score remains ‘moderate’ as it was last year‚ it is in danger of falling to ‘poor’ because of political instability and growing bilateral tensions with allies over the security implications of the proposed nuclear agreement with Iran and how best to fight the Islamic State [terrorist organization]‚” the report says.  Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post 4 Reasons US Military Isn’t Prepared to Face Worst Enemies appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The Maine House of Representatives is considering a bill that would protect anyone who takes a child who identifies as transgender away from “non-affirming” parents in order to subject that minor to experimental transgender medical interventions. The legislation also would counteract laws protecting minors from such “treatment” in other states. The Maine bill‚ LD 1735‚ would prioritize “gender-affirming care” in custody disputes. It would prohibit courts from considering that a person applying for custody had taken a child from someone else with legal custody—such as parents—if that person removed the child “for the purposes of obtaining gender-affirming health care… for the child” from a state that restricts this experimental “care.” This means judges in custody cases would have to look favorably on anyone who removes a child from parents‚ so long as that person does so to help the child receive experimental transgender “treatments” that may leave him or her stunted‚ scarred‚ and infertile. Gender activists and their allies who have infiltrated health care organizations often insist that these interventions—which often amount to chemical castration—are essential to prevent gender-confused children from committing suicide. This twisted logic enables activists to claim that a parent’s disagreement on gender identity constitutes a form of “mental harm” to a child.  The idea that a father’s refusing to sign up his daughter for a path leading to the removal of healthy breasts and a healthy womb constitutes child abuse is so absurd‚ it requires multiple levels of doublespeak to justify. False terms such as “gender-affirming care” are necessary to cloak the truth of what is going on.  Yet the Maine bill goes all-in on this deceptive phrase‚ from the title (“An Act to Safeguard Gender-Affirming Health Care”) to the definition framing these interventions as “medically necessary health care that respects the gender identity of the patient‚ as experienced and defined by the patient.” Note that the definition doesn’t say that a medical doctor has to sign off on a diagnosis. The bill’s framing around “gender-affirming care” overlooks the testimony of doctors who warn that even the “social transition” of encouraging a boy to present as a girl “is a powerful psychotherapeutic intervention that radically changes outcomes.” Doctors also warn that children can’t possibly give informed consent for procedures that may sterilize them and put them at risk of long-term side effects such as decreased bone density and cardiovascular disease. Yet LD 1735 would make these interventions sacrosanct by treating any refusal of them as tantamount to child abuse. The bill would grant Maine courts “temporary emergency jurisdiction” in cases where the child must be protected “because the child has been unable to obtain gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care.” This “temporary emergency jurisdiction” in custody cases already applies to child abandonment and to situations where “it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child or a sibling or parent of the child is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse.” The bill merely would add the inability to receive “gender-affirming health care” to this list of emergency conditions. LD 1735 also would prevent law enforcement in the Pine Tree State from arresting or helping to extradite a person for violating “another state’s law against providing‚ receiving or allowing a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care in this state.” It would bar law enforcement from providing information to an out-of-state agency regarding any such “care” performed in Maine. The bill also states that “an out-of-state arrest warrant for an individual based on violating another state’s law against providing‚ receiving‚ or allowing a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care is the lowest law enforcement priority.” The bill might enable situations such as the child sex trafficking of Sage‚ a girl who was encouraged to hide her transgender identity from her grandmother. According to her grandmother‚ Sage ran away after she was victimized in a boys’ bathroom at school‚ then ended up getting abducted‚ raped‚ and beaten. Sage had been taken across state lines from Virginia to Maryland‚ and a Maryland lawyer fought to keep Sage away from her grandmother. Last February‚ a Virginia bill aimed at preventing Sage’s tragedy from happening again died in the Old Dominion’s Democratic-majority Senate. “This bill would‚ in effect‚ make Maine a party to the trafficking of minors from other states‚” Jay Richards‚ director of the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Life‚ Religion‚ and Family at The Heritage Foundation‚ told The Daily Signal in a statement Wednesday. (The Daily Signal is The Heritage Foundation’s news outlet.) The Maine bill “would draw troubled teens from other states that have protected them from receiving ghoulish sex trait-modification drugs and surgery‚” Richards said. “There is no good evidence that such medical interventions help minors‚ and plenty of evidence of their harms.” Alvin Lui‚ president of the parental rights group Courage is a Habit‚ also opposes the bill. “LD 1735 is a transgender trafficking bill that would permit the state of Maine to receive minors from other states seeking transgender treatments‚ such as breast binding‚ penis tucking‚ irreversible puberty blockers‚ cross-sex hormones‚ or mutilation surgeries‚” Lui told The Daily Signal in a written statement Wednesday. Courage Is a Habit has encouraged Americans to contact Maine legislators about the bill‚ whether they live in Maine or not. The Maine House Judiciary Committee plans to consider the bill Thursday. According to the pro-transgender Movement Advancement Project‚ 14 states have laws or executive orders to “shield” people who perform experimental transgender medical interventions from laws in other states. These laws may include the same sort of custody provisions that could protect kidnappers. Maine-LD-1735-Transgender-TraffickingDownload Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Maine Bill Would Protect Kidnappers Who Take ‘Transgender Kids’ From ‘Non-Affirming’ Parents for ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The nation’s college campuses have created a climate of hate. A report released Monday by the Combat Antisemitism Movement in partnership with the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University in Israel found that antisemitism has exploded in U.S. higher education. The numbers are shocking‚ but not surprising. The report found that in the fourth quarter of 2023‚ from October through December‚ there was a 1‚753% increase in far-left incidents of antisemitism and a 268% increase of Islamist antisemitic incidents on college campuses since the previous quarter.  That obviously stems in no small part from the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. A news release from the Combat Antisemitism Movement said that nearly all the antisemitic incidents were “tied to anti-Zionist forms of antisemitism and the conflation of worldwide Jewry with the state of Israel.” The report confirms what many already assumed‚ but there are a few things worth noting here. First‚ it’s absurd to contend that this increase in antisemitism is a general societal problem‚ as witnesses at the now infamous congressional hearing on antisemitism in higher education suggested. Polls show overwhelming U.S. support for Israel. The older the American‚ the more likely they are to support Israel. While there has certainly been an increase in antisemitic incidents in general since Oct. 7‚ it’s on a whole other level in the ivory tower.  Americans didn’t suddenly become frothing antisemites after Oct. 7‚ but college campuses and left-wing enclaves did. Second‚ it’s also incorrect to suggest that antisemitism stems from mere ignorance. Sure‚ plenty of the Hamas-supporting activists in so-called higher education are uninformed lunkheads. However‚ their hate doesn’t stem from a simple misunderstanding. Instead‚ it comes from ideology. There’s a reason for the curious overlap between dedicated supporters of Black Lives Matter and the Palestinian cause‚ for instance. In his 2021 forward to Frantz Fanon’s “The Wretched of the Earth‚” a foundational book on the concept of “decolonialism‚” left-wing academic Cornel West noted that the “Black Lives Matter movement and the Palestinian Lives Matter movement” aligned with the anti-Israel “boycott‚ divestment and sanctions efforts.” Why is that? It’s because hatred of Jews and Israel stems from the Left’s general categorization of the world into oppressor and oppressed groups. They further see this as a global struggle between “colonizers” and the “colonized‚” and between the “Third World” and “the West.” Those positions were promoted by Marxist thinkers throughout the Cold War. They’ve now been repurposed to fit the needs of the modern Left. Does it matter that Jews have historically faced discrimination? Not at all. They are now aligned with “white supremacy‚” according to this mindset. Until Israel is eliminated‚ its people killed or scattered to the wind‚ the far Left will always treat Jews as oppressors whenever the Israel-Palestinian issue comes up. It’s why when acts of terrorism are perpetrated against Israelis‚ many on the Left actually blame Israel. This is about structural forces and fighting oppressors. Hamas terrorists can’t really be held culpable for their acts of evil‚ you see. No amount of violence toward Jews or pleading that they’ve been oppressed‚ too‚ will matter if you embrace this ideology. Just look at this San Francisco city council hearing and the left-wing activists’ behavior toward a Jewish man who lost relatives to terrorists in the Oct. 7 attack. WATCH: A San Francisco Jewish man bravely shares his experiences with antisemitism after losing five family members at Kibbutz Be'eri‚ including two kidnapped by Hamas‚ only to be met with boos and jeers from anti-Israel activists. pic.twitter.com/waUybyoXtg— JCRC Bay Area (@SFJCRC) January 10‚ 2024 It’s clear that where antisemitism is festering and exploding most obviously is among the young‚ the woke‚ and the (allegedly) highly educated—or more specifically‚ those most likely to have gone through our university system. On college campuses‚ such people are in the driver’s seat. They represent the established church of higher education. They are the beating heart of the “great awokening‚” cultivated and protected by vast college campus Diversity‚ Equity and Inclusion administrations. When the activists get out ahead of their skis‚ as they did after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack‚ you can count on university presidents to come up with mealy-mouthed calls for free speech to both avoid provoking their allies and to give them cover from outside criticism. Harvard University’s response to the surge in antisemitism has been particularly revealing. Those who run Harvard apparently care so little about the outrage toward antisemitism on their campus that they chose a professor who called Israel a “regime of apartheid” to lead their pointless task force on antisemitism. Jewish history professor Derek Penslar‚ the man leading the task force‚ has called the boycott‚ divestment and sanctions movement a “a reasonable position” and clearly leans into the “settler colonialism” framework to analyze the state of Israel. That’s the level of contempt they have for their critics. They clearly don’t take the congressional investigation seriously‚ either. This all explains why elite universities won’t willingly reform from the inside. The dominant and nearly exclusive worldview that pervades the most elite campuses is what fueled the rise in antisemitism. It’s that simple. The most you can expect without real political and financial pressure is for them to create more meaningless task forces that waste time in an attempt to get donors and the public off their backs. As long as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues‚ there will be rampant‚ unapologetic antisemitism on college campuses. The only thing that will get it to subside from the inside is if the media news cycle changes and they find some other element of Western society to hate and tear down. Higher education in America has been rotting from within for a long time. After Oct. 7‚ that became impossible for all but dedicated leftists to ignore. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Antisemitism on College Campuses Has Shot Up 1‚753% Since Oct. 7. Higher Education Spawned This Culture of Hate. appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Another apparent “sweetheart deal” negotiated by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department in a politically charged case is drawing scrutiny. Former IRS contractor Charles Edward Littlejohn‚ who stole and helped publicize the confidential tax records of Donald Trump and an estimated 7‚500 other wealthy Americans‚ could face little or no jail time when he is sentenced later this month‚ because the DOJ allowed him to plead guilty to a single felony count. In a new court filing‚ prosecutors acknowledge the plea deal “does not account for the fact that he [Littlejohn] leaked thousands of individuals’ tax returns. His [sentencing] range would be the same today if he had leaked only a single return.” But instead of seeking prison time for each of his offenses—or even for the two separate mass thefts he committed‚ one in 2019 and another in 2020—the Justice Department is asking a federal judge to sentence Littlejohn to just 60 months‚ the maximum for a single offense under the statute. Some political leaders angry over the plea deal say he should get 60 years‚ not months‚ for his crime—the biggest heist of IRS taxpayer data in history. Attorneys for Littlejohn‚ 38‚ argue he actually deserves an even lower sentence‚ closer to the presentencing report’s range of four to 10 months‚ in part because he leaked the reams of stolen private income-tax data to “reputable news organizations—the New York Times and ProPublica—that he knew would handle the information responsibly.” His lawyers say a 60-month term is “equivalent to a 15-level upward departure” from the range prosecutors originally agreed to in the plea deal‚ and such a wide departure would be unprecedented. The D.C. judge deciding Littlejohn’s fate “does not have unfettered discretion to depart from the applicable sentencing guidelines‚” Littlejohn’s attorney Lisa Manning advised the court in papers filed last week. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes‚ a Biden appointee who has a record of meting out lenient sentences‚ will decide Littlejohn’s punishment on Monday. The Times and ProPublica published dozens of stories based on the personal tax files that the former Booz Allen Hamilton contractor electronically smuggled out of the IRS. Those articles largely advanced Democrats’ calls for further investigations into Trump and the need to raise taxes on the wealthy. Against the backdrop of prosecutions of Donald Trump in an election year and the collapse of Hunter Biden’s earlier no-jail plea deal‚ which a Delaware judge rejected because it was “not straightforward” and contained “atypical provisions‚” Littlejohn’s plea agreement is raising new questions about the politicization of justice. Trump lawyer Alina Habba said Littlejohn’s admission of guilt looks “more like a Hunter Biden plea deal.” House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith‚ R-Mo.‚ agreed‚ complaining that he’s getting off “with just a slap on the wrist.” At a minimum‚ the Missouri Republican argues‚ Littlejohn‚ a Democrat donor who sought to damage Trump soon after his 2016 election‚ should have been charged with two “separate and distinct” unauthorized disclosures—one of Trump’s tax returns to the Times in 2019 and the separate tranche of thousands of returns he delivered to ProPublica in 2020. “While some argue that he should have been charged with one count per taxpayer‚ it is clear to us that at a minimum he should have been charged with two counts of unauthorized disclosure and potentially with at least one count of obstruction of justice‚” Smith wrote the Justice Department in a recent letter‚ noting that Littlejohn took measures to foil investigators. Prosecutors say Littlejohn’s victims total “over 1‚000.” But the number of taxpayers whose privacy he violated could run in the several thousand. According to recent court papers‚ Littlejohn rejoined Booz Allen in 2017 with the express purpose of getting assigned to the IRS and stealing Trump’s tax returns‚ which he downloaded in 2018. Then in June 2020‚ he began conducting searches of the IRS database to pull historic tax data on the wealthiest taxpayers in the country. Specifically‚ Littlejohn constructed a query designed to call up the top 500 taxpayers by income by year for the previous 15 years. After running the query‚ he stole the entire data set‚ put it on a flash drive‚ and gave it to reporters at ProPublica‚ a left-leaning nonprofit funded by George Soros and other wealthy liberal donors. ProPublica‚ in turn‚ published nearly 50 articles using the purloined tax returns to show how the rich use loopholes in the tax code to avoid paying taxes. Congressional Democrats cited the series in their push for higher taxes on the wealthy. There are so many victims of Littlejohn’s breach of protected taxpayer information—the largest in history—that DOJ asked a federal judge in Washington for permission to create a public website to notify victims without reaching out to each person individually. Taxpayers will have to proactively search the site to discover whether their most private financial records have been compromised. “[The] number of potential victims in this case makes it impracticable to provide all of the victims the rights provided under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act‚” the Justice Department said. DOJ has notified only 152 victims of Littlejohn’s crime. Thousands more taxpayers with high net worths remain in the dark about whether the rogue Booz Allen contractor shared their most private financial data with the media‚ which still possess the confidential information and continue to publish stories based on it. Littlejohn‚ who goes by the name “Chaz‚” did not just disclose income and tax data. He also leaked charitable donations‚ investments‚ stock trades‚ gambling winnings and losses‚ as well as the results of IRS audits—all with the hope that journalists would expose “salacious details” about Trump and other wealthy taxpayers‚ many of them Trump donors‚ according to the new court filings. This egregious invasion of privacy was “a core purpose” of his steal-and-leak scheme. And the illegal invasions of privacy are ongoing. Neither the Times nor ProPublica has returned what Littlejohn stole from the IRS‚ despite requests from victims such as billionaire hedge-fund manager Kenneth Griffin‚ who is suing the IRS over the leak of his tax returns to ProPublica. “Victims have no assurance that their personal information will not be the subject of a news article tomorrow‚ next week‚ next month‚ or even next year‚” prosecutors told the court in their latest filing. “The harm arising from defendant’s crime is accordingly so extensive and ongoing that it is impossible to quantify.” Critics say such admissions only deepen their suspicion that Littlejohn was undercharged for political reasons. In the wake of other large thefts of confidential government information by politically inspired figures —including former Treasury official Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards‚ who got a plea-negotiated six months after leaking Trump-related bank data to BuzzFeed—the Littlejohn case raises fresh questions about the message the government is sending to bureaucrats and others who politically weaponize private financial information. “When the criminal leaker was finally caught‚ we expected that he would face severe consequences for his actions that would both punish him while also serving to deter future‚ similar misconduct‚” Smith wrote the Justice Department. A sentence of four to 10 months‚ the Missouri Republican said‚ “comes nowhere close to having a deterrent effect on government employees who might be thinking about breaking the law.” Smith said the case only adds “more fuel to the fire” to growing perceptions of a two-tiered system of justice in Washington where criminals who seek to damage Trump get off easy‚ while those who break the law in supporting Trump—such as trespassing on restricted government grounds—get the book thrown at them. In 2021‚ for example‚ former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith received a sentence of 12 months’ probation for doctoring evidence so a Trump adviser could be spied on under the false premise he was an agent for Russia. An Obama-appointed judge in D.C. sympathized with Clinesmith‚ a liberal Democrat who‚ internal FBI messages revealed‚ hated Trump. Echoing those on the left who hail Littlejohn as a “whistleblower” and a “hero‚” his defense lawyers now are appealing to another Democrat judge in D.C. to give their client a pass because he acted out of “deep‚ moral belief” to expose Trump whom he viewed as “dangerous and a threat to democracy.” In other words‚ the “moral” end justified his criminal means. Littlejohn’s lawyers further suggested he was influenced in his views and motivated to act by The New York Times‚ which ran articles demanding Trump release his tax returns because it suspected he could be hiding nefarious financial ties to Russia. The newspaper’s reporting long had pushed the false notion that Trump had financial ties to the Kremlin.  Littlejohn’s lawyer‚ Manning‚ noted in a motion asking the judge for leniency that her client had been faithfully reading the Times and “made up his mind to act” in response to the steady stream of anti-Trump articles it published. (Manning is a partner in the Washington law firm that represented Trump-Russia dossier fabricator Igor Danchenko.) Between May 2019 and August 2019‚ Littlejohn huddled multiple times with Times reporters about how they would publicize Trump’s stolen tax records. “Based on his discussions with the reporters‚” Manning said‚ “Mr. Littlejohn felt that The New York Times shared his belief that the American public had a right to know the president’s tax information.” Following a meeting in June‚ one of the Times reporters (unnamed) wrote to Littlejohn: [I]t was great meeting you last night. That was a (really) big step‚ and we respect the courage it took. I hope we land on a good path forward. I completely respect your concerns and want you to feel right about any decision / decisions you make. … I can’t help but reflect that it’s something the three of us ended up together last night because a certain person won’t disclose information that people absolutely need to see and have for decades. I appreciate you share this concern and recognize one person can make a difference. On Sept. 27‚ 2020–—five weeks before the election—the Times published data from 15 years of Trump’s tax records in a story of over 10‚000 words headlined “Long-concealed records show Trump’s chronic losses and years of tax avoidance.” Times reporters Russ Buettner‚ Susanne Craig and Mike McIntire shared a byline on the piece. The Times noted that none of the stolen IRS records revealed “any previously unreported connections to Russia.” Trump lawyer Habba said she suspects Littlejohn was an operative in a broader political conspiracy to sabotage the former president before the 2020 election. “What Mr. Littlejohn did‚ I do not believe he did alone‚” she said‚ adding that the leak probably “cost my client thousands of votes and was all by design.” Court filings reveal Littlejohn didn’t just steal Trump’s tax filings but also those of “entities and individuals” related to him. It’s not clear whether the tax returns of Trump’s family members were leaked too. Infiltrating the IRS In mid-2017‚ Littlejohn reapplied for a job at Booz Allen‚ where he had worked previously‚ “with the goal of getting access to” Trump’s tax returns so he could leak them to the press‚ according to the Justice Department’s new sentencing memo. DOJ does not identify Booz Allen by name in the document‚ but instead refers to Littlejohn’s employer as “Company A.” However‚ in a separate filing last week involving Griffin’s civil case‚ the DOJ’s tax division stated that Littlejohn was “a contractor employed by Booz Allen Hamilton‚” confirming RealClearInvestigations’ reporting last October.) Booz Allen rehired Littlejohn in September 2017‚ three months after former FBI Director Robert Mueller handed the McLean‚ Virginia-based contractor a report into its weak security procedures—including lapses in how it screens employees for potential threats. “We are committed to doing our part to detect potential insider threats‚” the company stated at the time. The company in 2016 had retained Mueller‚ who would go on to be the special counsel pursuing Russiagate allegations‚ after one of its computer analysts‚ Harold Martin III‚ was arrested for stealing data from the National Security Agency. The breach occurred three years after another Booz Allen analyst‚ Edward Snowden‚ fled the country with thousands of top-secret documents that he soon leaked to journalists‚ exposing the NSA’s worldwide anti-terror surveillance program. In February 2018‚ after Mueller’s recommendations‚ the company granted Littlejohn access to unmasked taxpayer data‚ whereupon he immediately began to develop a plan to secretly download Trump’s tax returns from an internal IRS database. In an interview with RealClearInvestigations‚ Booz Allen spokeswoman Jessica Klenk declined to say what‚ if any‚ reforms the company implemented after the Mueller review to safeguard such sensitive information. Klenk also would not discuss any steps taken to vet and monitor Littlejohn to determine whether he posed a security threat before and after assigning him to work on IRS computers. But in a company statement‚ Booz Allen said it “fully supported the U.S. government in its investigation into this matter.” “We condemn in the strongest possible terms the actions of this individual‚ who was active with the company years ago‚” the statement continued. “We have zero tolerance for violations of the law and operate under the highest ethical and professional guidelines.” Booz Allen employs more than 20‚000 consultants with government security clearances who handle some of the nation’s most confidential data. The most profitable government contractor in the world‚ Booz Allen has been connected to high-profile Democrats over the years‚ including former employee James Clapper‚ who served as President Barack Obama’s intelligence czar.   Activist Camouflaged as Bureaucrat At least two Obama administration alumni sit on Booz Allen’s board. President Bill Clinton’s IRS commissioner also holds a seat. In the 2020 election cycle‚ federal records show‚ Booz Allen contributed a total of $238‚776 to Joe Biden versus $85‚657 to Trump. The company also gave almost four times more money to the Democratic National Committee than to the Republican National Committee. Despite Booz Allen’s track record of security breaches‚ the Biden administration has trusted the company to help modernize the entire IRS computer system. Even as federal investigators were closing in on Littlejohn this summer‚ the Biden administration’s IRS decided to rehire his employer to update its databases. Booz Allen’s seven-year contract‚ with a ceiling value of $2.6 billion‚ involves consolidating roughly 400 different systems into a new‚ cloud-based architecture. That means company employees will have access to IRS data through 2030. The massive new IRS contract may explain why the Justice Department has been reluctant to identify Littlejohn’s employer by name in court papers and press releases about the case. The Washington media largely have gone along with the blackout‚ describing Littlejohn only as an “IRS contractor” while explaining to their audiences that his employer “wasn’t identified” by the government. “That’s troubling‚” said Susan Shelley‚ spokeswoman for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association‚ a taxpayer advocacy group. “The House Ways and Means Committee should take a very close look at that contract.” The tax-writing panel is demanding more answers. In a Jan. 8 letter to IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel‚ Ways and Means Chair Smith pressed the Internal Revenue Service to explain what it is doing to prevent breaches of taxpayer information from happening again. For starters‚ Smith wants to know how many contractors currently have access to IRS databases‚ and whether the IRS is doing anything to reduce that number. Booz Allen hasn’t even protected its own data‚ let alone the federal agencies with whom it contracts. In 2022‚ it had to notify its employees that their personal information—including Social Security numbers and dates of birth—were exposed in a breach of its internal network. The company offered each of its workers up to $1 million of insurance coverage for identity theft to pay for potential losses from identify thieves. The IRS declined to address why it is allowing Booz Allen‚ with its long history of data breaches and security problems‚ to have even deeper and broader access to taxpayer databases. In a press statement following Littlejohn’s arrest‚ the IRS’s Werfel said the agency has “tightened security” in the wake of the leaks.The Treasury Department’s inspector general is still investigating the massive breach‚ however‚ and plans to report on whether the agency remains vulnerable to such political weaponization of taxpayer information by rogue contractors and employees.In 2018‚ when Littlejohn was stealing Trump’s tax returns‚ the inspector general found no fewer than 88 physical security control weaknesses and more than 1‚700 improperly configured user accounts. In 2020‚ moreover‚ auditors determined that 54% of employees had unneeded access privileges to the “IRS Centralized Authorization File” storing the agency’s most sensitive information. They also discovered IRS supervisors “could not provide an accurate inventory of all applications that store or process taxpayer data.”In its sentencing memo‚ the Justice Department warned that Littlejohn’s crime “has undermined the faith and confidence in the IRS‚ an institution that is critical to the effective functioning of our government.” This article originally was published by RealClearInvestigations and was distributed by RealClearWire. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Leniency on Tap for Anti-Trump Leaker of Thousands of Tax Returns appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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