Judge dies days before trial of private eye over Trump taxes

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BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (AP) - A senior federal judge in Louisiana died Saturday, days before he was to preside over the trial of a private investigator accused of trying to get Donald Trump's tax returns illegally during the 2016 presidential campaign, court officials said.

Chief Judge Brian A. Jackson of Louisiana's Middle District said Saturday in a statement that Judge James J. Brady had died. Michael McConnell, clerk of court for the district, confirmed that Brady died Saturday at a Baton Rouge hospital after a brief illness.

Brady was to preside as jury selection began Monday in the trial of Jordan Hamlett. It was not immediately clear what would happen with the trial following Brady's death.

The 32-year-old Lafayette resident is charged with misusing a Social Security number in his attempts to access Trump's tax information through a government website. Authorities say Hamlett failed in his attempts to get Trump's tax returns several weeks before last year's presidential election.

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