The list of people lining up to condemn Donald Trump for attacking the fitness of a “Mexican” federal judge has grown to include House Speaker Paul Ryan, who endorsed Trump just one day ago.
But so far it does not include the person who arguably has the most important take on the controversy: Trump’s sister, Maryanne Trump Barry.
Barry is a judge herself, first appointed to the federal bench by Ronald Reagan, then elevated to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, where she serves as senior judge, by Bill Clinton.
It is a point of widespread consensus in the legal world that a judge’s ethnicity has no bearing on his or her ability to adjudicate cases fairly. It thus stands to reason that, as a matter of principle, Judge Barry considers her brother’s efforts to delegitimize Gonzalo Curiel a professional affront. But for the moment she is remaining silent on the issue. Judge Barry has not responded to emailed requests for comment on the generic question of whether a judge’s ethnicity can constitute a conflict of interest. And a clerk in her chambers told me she won’t be available to comment on the matter.