Trump tax return investigator arrested — again

BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana private investigator accused of trying to illegally obtain Donald Trump’s tax returns before last year’s U.S. presidential election has been arrested again.

At a hearing this week, a judge found that Jordan Hamlett violated conditions of his pretrial release that involved computer monitoring and tracking of his location. Prosecutors say Hamlett tried unsuccessfully to obtain Trump’s tax returns using a U.S. Department of Education financial aid website. Federal agents first arrested Hamlett last year on a charge that he misused a Social Security number in the effort. 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 a transcript of testimony obtained by The Associated Press.

Hamlett’s lawyer didn’t immediately return phone and email messages Friday. On Wednesday, a judge ordered him held by the U.S. Marshals Service but left open the possibility he could return to home detention at some point while awaiting his December trial.