US judge who criticized Trump attacks on judiciary cleared of ethics complaints

By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge has been cleared of alleged wrongdoing for going on CNN to speak out against threats made against members of the judiciary and respond to Donald Trump's comments about the daughter of the judge who presided over the New York case in which the now-president was convicted last year.

The Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit Judicial Council threw out two ethics complaints against Senior U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton in Washington. It found that Walton did not talk about the merits of any legal case, but commented only on Trump's statements made on social media about Justice Juan Merchan, who presided over the New York criminal case, and his family.

Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Michael Chagares said Walton warned about the "unintended consequences" of public remarks like those made by Trump and "also emphasized the importance of the independence of judicial officers in maintaining the rule of law and ensuring that laws are applied equally to all who appear before a judge."

"These comments do not amount to judicial misconduct," Chagares wrote.

The ruling followed two judicial ethics complaints that were filed against Walton after the judge gave a rare televised interview to CNN in March 2024. One of the complaints was brought by a Trump ally, Article III Project founder Mike Davis. The other complainant has not been identified.

The complaints accused Walton of violating judicial ethics rules by commenting on the merits of a pending case, potentially tainting the jury pools in the four criminal cases then pending against Trump by accusing him of making violent threats against Merchan. Trump was not president at the time.

The complaints about Walton's interview were consolidated before the 3rd Circuit Judicial Council, resulting in a January 31 decision that was released publicly this week, finding that Walton did not violate the judicial code of conduct.

The decision did not identify Walton by name. But Walton, an appointee of Republican former President George W. Bush, on Thursday confirmed to Reuters he was the judge at issue. Walton had no further comment.

The decision also included quotes matching a complaint filed by Davis, who in an interview said it was clear Walton violated judicial ethics rules.

"Naturally the judiciary protects its own, and this is why Congress must step forward with legislation imposing independent ethics body for the federal judiciary," Davis said.

The decision comes amid new concerns about judicial security prompted by vocal attacks by Trump, his billionaire adviser Elon Musk and other administration officials against judges who block the president's agenda in court.

For instance, Trump has called for the impeachment of a judge who has ruled in a case concerning the administration's deportation flights and called the jurist a "Radical Left Lunatic." 

Walton appeared on CNN after Trump began publicly assailing Merchan and his daughter ahead of his criminal trial on charges related to hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. Trump called Merchan's daughter a "Rabid Trump Hater" in a post on his social media platform.

Walton told CNN it was "very disconcerting to have someone making comments about a judge," and expressed concern that such remarks by people in authority could "resonate with others" and cause them to "maybe cause injury or death to someone."

Merchan in January sentenced Trump ahead of his inauguration for a second term in office to an unconditional discharge with no prison term after a jury last year found him guilty of falsifying documents to cover up the hush money payment.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Will Dunham and Leslie Adler)