Judge’s CNN appearance to bash Trump called out for possibly breaking ethics rules

A sitting federal judge joined CNN on Thursday to say former President Donald Trump’s criticism of judges and prosecutors is undermining the justice system.

Judge Reggie Walton’s commentary sparked charges that he violated the judicial ethics code that restricts judges from commenting on pending cases.

Judge Walton went public with his opinions after Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing Mr. Trump’s hush money case in New York, issued a gag order on Mr. Trump.

The gag order restricts Mr. Trump from commenting about jurors, witnesses and lawyers. It noted that the former president has a history of “threatening, inflammatory, denigrating” comments.

Judge Walton said he joined CNN to speak out against threats against judges, which he said in his experience has risen since the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

“It is very troubling because I think it is an attack on the rule of law when judges are threatened and particularly when their family is threatened, and it’s something that’s wrong and should not happen,” said Judge Walton, a Bush appointee who sits on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

He was called out for running afoul of the judicial ethics code.

Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison, a Republican, said the judge’s actions were troubling.

“Judge Walton’s conduct is prejudicial, wildly inappropriate, and appears to be a clear case of judicial misconduct,” he wrote on X.

Mike Davis, president of the conservative judicial advocacy group the Article III Project, said a judicial misconduct complaint is likely coming Judge Walton’s way.

“Is this a (bad) joke? This is a sitting federal judge. And he’s commenting on a pending criminal case? Against the leading presidential candidate? During the height of the election season? If so, this is highly prejudicial. And extremely inappropriate,” Mr. Davis said.

A spokesperson from Judge Walton’s chamber said the judge is not doing any more interviews at this time and declined to comment on the possible ethics violation complaint.

Mr. Trump is facing several pending prosecutions and has often taken to social media to criticize the judges and prosecutors lobbing criminal charges at him during the 2024 campaign.

He is set to go to trial next month in New York over hush money payments allegedly made during his 2016 campaign to porn actor Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had an affair with Mr. Trump in the past. He has denied the affair.

The former president is also facing federal prosecution in Washington over his challenge to the 2020 election results. That case is not pending before Judge Walton, but it is pending before another judge in the same court.