Federal Judge Dies During Trump Tax Return Case

Eric Stradford, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired

December 11, 2017 -- A minority of Alabama voters will have one more thought to ponder in their decision to send alleged child molester Judge Roy Moore to the United States Senate.  Trump Administration support for Moore follows a pattern of behavior to reshape the courts amidst an unprecedented docket of alleged criminal activity.

Just how far the Trump Administration will go to replace federal judges has yet to be seen. Trump has won far more Senate confirmations than his three immediate predecessors did at this point in their presidencies.

The latest slew of unanswered questions stem from reports on Trump’s Tax Returns and the now deceased federal judge in Louisiana.  None of today’s questions are likely to be fully vetted in time for voters, a special prosecutor, or a Senate judiciary to consider conspiracy to murder as reasonable doubt for electing Judge Roy Moore.

Associated Press reported that James J. Brady, 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.

Judge Brady was to preside as jury selection began today (Monday, December 11) in the trial of Jordan Hamlett. It was not immediately clear what would happen with the trial following Brady’s death.  According to sources, Brady’s untimely death followed a “brief illness.” A clerk of court confirmed that Brady died Saturday at a Baton Rouge hospital.

Brady was nominated to the bench in 1999 by then-President Bill Clinton and assumed senior status in December 2013. Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for federal judges, who get lifetime appointments. It enables them to take reduced caseloads while continuing to draw a salary.

The case charges Jordan Hamlett, a 32-year-old Lafayette, LA resident 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.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Rezaei argued to Brady that Hamlett's desire to use such a “white hat defense” is akin to an armed bank robber arguing he was simply trying to test a financial institution's security and then telling police he was only trying to test the security system.

Hamlett's attorney accused agents of tricking his client by luring him to a Baton Rouge hotel where they questioned him on Oct. 27, less than two weeks before the election.

At that time, the agents did not know whether Hamlett had been successful in obtaining Trump's tax returns, prosecutors said in court records. The agents feared a public release of the documents could influence the election, according to reports.

Every president since Jimmy Carter has released tax returns, in what has become an American tradition during presidential elections. Trump has refused to release his.