Maryanne Trump Barry

Maryanne Trump Barry, a former federal judge who was an older sister of Donald J. Trump and served as both his protector and critic throughout their lives, has died. She was 86. Ms. Barry died at her home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Ms. Barry, the widow of John Barry, a veteran trial and appellate lawyer, had been a federal judge in New Jersey, a position that Mr. Trump’s fixer, the lawyer Roy M. Cohn, was credited with helping her attain during President Ronald Reagan’s tenure. She retired from the bench in 2019, at a time when inquiries were brewing after a New York Times investigation into the family’s tax practices. Barry's voluntary retirement ended the review stemming from claims based on the news article alleging that Barry may have committed misconduct relating to tax and financial transactions that occurred mostly in the 1980s and 1990s. After her brother's election, Barry gave up her court staff and took inactive status in early 2017. A Republican, she was nominated for a judgeship by President Ronald Reagan and was elevated to the circuit court by President Bill Clinton.