Maryanne Trump Barry

Maryanne Trump Barry (April 5, 1937 – November 13, 2023) was an American attorney and federal judge. She served as an assistant United States attorney beginning in 1974 and was appointed to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. In 1999, she was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit by President Bill Clinton. Barry testified in support of Samuel Alito’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court before the Senate Judiciary Committee in January 2006. She assumed senior status on June 30, 2011, and retired from the bench on February 11, 2019.

She was born in Queens, New York City, on April 5, 1937, as the first child of Fred Trump, a real estate developer, and Mary Anne MacLeod Trump. She attended Kew-Forest School during her early education. Barry graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College in 1958 and obtained a Master of Arts in public law and government from Columbia University in 1962. She earned her Juris Doctor from Hofstra University School of Law in 1974.

Prior to her legal career, Barry spent approximately 13 years as a homemaker. She then joined the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, where she was one of two women among 62 lawyers. Her roles there included work in the civil division (1974–1975), the appeals division (1976–1982), where she served as deputy chief (1976–1977) and chief (1977–1982), and as Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney (1981–1982). She was the First Assistant United States Attorney from 1981 to 1983.

On September 14, 1983, she was nominated by President Reagan to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, filling the vacancy left by Henry Curtis Meanor. The Senate confirmed her on October 6, 1983, and she received her commission on October 7, 1983. According to her niece, Mary L. Trump, her appointment was influenced by Donald Trump’s connection to lawyer Roy Cohn, with Donald allegedly exerting influence over the process. In 1985, Barry recused herself from a drug trafficking case due to her brother Donald’s relationship with the accused trafficker.

Her service on the district court concluded in 1999, when she was appointed to the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, a position confirmed unanimously by the Senate on September 13, 1999. She was commissioned and began serving on September 22, 1999. Barry was known for a strict courtroom demeanor, and during her tenure, she presided over notable cases including the rejection of a plea deal for county detectives accused of corruption and the conviction of mobster Louis Manna.

As a Republican appointed by a Democratic president, she served on the Third Circuit until assuming senior status in 2011. Her active service ended in 2017 when she took inactive senior status and subsequently retired in 2019, amid an investigation into allegations of participation in fraudulent tax and financial schemes involving her family. This investigation was initiated after The New York Times reported on alleged estate tax and gift tax avoidance schemes related to Fred Trump’s real estate businesses, involving the formation of the shell company All County Building Supply & Maintenance, which was owned collectively by Barry, her family members, and a cousin. The company processed reimbursements that authorities claimed were fraudulent and effectively transferred wealth in ways that evaded taxation.

Following the publication, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance began reviewing the allegations, and in February 2019, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit announced an investigation into the claims. Barry retired shortly afterward, ending the investigation.

Maryanne Trump Barry was the elder sister of Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th President of the United States. She passed away on November 13, 2023.

Throughout her career, Barry also publicly expressed criticism of her brother Donald Trump. In 2020, her niece Mary L. Trump disclosed recordings of conversations in which Barry criticized Donald’s character and policy decisions, describing him as driven by base appeal, devoid of principles, and cruel.