President Trump’s older sister has retired as a federal appellate judge, ending an investigation into alleged tax misconduct.
Maryanne Trump Barry, 82, retired Wednesday, but filed to leave the bench in February, 10 days after a judicial conduct council said it was investigating complaints about her conduct, according to the New York Times.
The original investigation came after a report about how the wealth from Trump’s father, Fred Trump, was transferred to the president and his siblings to avoid taxes. Fred Trump, who died in 1999, was a real estate titan who had accrued millions during his lifetime. Barry is reported to have earned $182.5 million from her father’s empire.
Barry was the co-owner of a shell company, All County Building Supply and Maintenance, which the Trumps allegedly used to markup purchases already made by their employees and split the markup without estate or gift taxes.
Trump’s lawyer, Charles Harder, has disputed any claims of impropriety, saying the “allegations of fraud and tax evasion are 100 percent false, and highly defamatory.”
The probe into Barry’s conduct has been rendered moot because retired judges are not subject to judicial conduct rules.
Barry had been appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in 1999 by President Bill Clinton.
