Former federal Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, the sister of former President Donald Trump, has died at 86, according to The New York Times. Sources told the outlet that Barry was found early Monday morning at her Manhattan home. No cause of death was specified.
Barry, the widow of the late attorney John Barry, served as a federal judge in New Jersey — a position longtime Trump fixer Roy Cohn was credited with helping her attain during the Reagan administration, according to the Times. She was later appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit by then-President Bill Clinton. Barry, who previously served as a federal prosecutor, abruptly retired in 2019 amid scrutiny over the Trump family’s tax practices. Their younger brother, Robert Trump, died in 2020 and a funeral was held at the White House.
Confidants told the Times that Trump “seemed to heed the words of few people as much as he did his sister’s” but they had a “significant fissure” in their relationship toward the end of his presidency after their niece Mary Trump released audio of Barry criticizing Trump. "All he wants to do is appeal to his base," Barry said in the recording as reported by The Washington Post in August 2020. "He has no principles. None. None. And his base, I mean my God, if you were a religious person, you want to help people. Not do this."
