Trump's sister retires as judge to avoid fraud probe

US President Donald Trump's older sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, has retired as a federal appellate judge, ending an investigation into alleged tax misconduct by the Trump family.

According to the New York Times, the court inquiry stemmed from complaints filed in October, after an investigation by the daily found that the Trumps had engaged in dubious tax schemes during the 1990s to maximize the inherited wealth of the President, Barry and their siblings.

The daily said that judge Barry, 82, not only benefited financially from most of those tax schemes, but she was also in a position to influence the actions taken by her family.

She had not heard cases in more than two years but was still listed as an inactive senior judge, one step short of full retirement, according to the report.

In a letter dated February 1, a court official notified the four individuals who had filed the complaints that the probe was "receiving the full attention" of a judicial conduct council. Ten days later, Judge Barry filed her retirement papers.

Barry's retirement led to rendered the investigation moot as retired judges are not subject to the conduct rules.

The people who filed the complaints were notified last week that the matter was dropped without a finding on the merits of the allegations.

The decision has not yet been made public yet, but copies were provided to the New York Times by two of the complainants. Both are involved in the legal profession.

Trump's lawyer Charles Harder had called the original Times story "false".

"There was no fraud or tax evasion by anyone. The facts upon which the Times bases its false allegations are extremely inaccurate," he said in a statement last year.

--IANS

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