Trump’s Sister Retires Rather Than Face Ethics Probe

File photo of Donald Trump with his sister Maryanne and brother Robert.Sonia Moskowitz/Globe Photos via ZUMA

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I almost forgot to write about the stink of scandal now surrounding Donald Trump’s older sister, Maryanne Barry. You may recall that the New York Times published a big story last year about the Trump family business and the likely tax evasion it practiced for years. Donald was the focus of the story, of course, but the tax evasion benefited all the Trump kids, including Maryanne. It’s too late to litigate any of this, but not too late to open a judicial ethics investigation against a sitting judge—which Maryanne Barry is.

So ten days after the ethics investigation was opened, Maryanne retired. That made the ethics investigation moot and it’s now been closed. But it certainly provides yet another reason to believe that sleazy tax shenanigans are at the core of why Donald Trump refuses to release his tax returns. This is why he’ll probably fight all the way to the Supreme Court to keep the public from finding out what he was really up to during his business career.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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