Arpaio drops bombshell at contempt hearing http://t.co/o6oHkAxJEm

— Arizona Daily Star (@TucsonStar) April 23, 2015

Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio dropped a bombshell in court Thursday when he said his former lawyer had hired a private investigator to look into the wife of the federal judge presiding over a contempt of court case against the sheriff.

The hearing took the strange turn after Arpaio had finished his testimony and Judge Murray Snow began asking him questions, including whether the sheriff was investigating his family.

Arpaio said he believed his former lawyer, Tim Casey, had hired a private investigator to look into his wife. The investigation stemmed from a purported comment Snow’s wife made about the judge not wanting Arpaio to get re-elected in 2012.

Casey declined comment, citing attorney-client privilege, when The Associated Press reached him after the development in court.

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