Federal judge appeared on CNN and criticized the former president.
The U.S. judge who appeared on cable television and criticized former President Donald Trump has been hit with an ethics complaint.
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton’s comments were “clearly inappropriate, defamatory, highly prejudicial, and outrageous,” the complaint, lodged on April 2, states.
Judge Walton, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, went on CNN after President Trump criticized New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan and his daughter in the wake of Justice Merchan issuing a gag order against him.
President Trump said in part that Justice Merchan was “suffering from an acute case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Judge Walton said the comments were disconcerting. “And it’s particularly problematic when those comments are in the form of a threat, especially if they’re directed at one’s family,” he said. “I mean, we do these jobs, because we’re committed to the rule of law and we believe in the rule of law, and the rule of law can only function effectively when we have judges who are prepared to carry out their duties without the threat of potential physical harm.”
“It’s very important that people in positions of authority be very circumspect in reference to the things that they say, so that they’re not causing others to act on what they say and maybe cause injury or deaths somewhat as a result of that,” he added.
The judge’s comments were hyperbolic, according to the new complaint.
“A criminal defendant expressed the view that he would not get a fair trial because of the business activities of the presiding judge’s adult daughter, who is a Democrat political consultant. Whether one agrees with this view, one cannot construe it as a threat or a suggestion that anyone else threatens or perpetuates violence against the judge or his family,” it states.
“Again, President Trump never doxxed the home addresses of Judge Merchan or his adult daughter. The statement is not a threat to the independent judiciary nor to democracy more broadly. Judge Walton had no basis to comment on a defendant’s assertion of a violation of the constitutional right to a fair trial in a pending criminal case.”
