Trump Supporter Lodges Complaint Against Judge Who Criticized Trump’s Remarks on Judiciary

Legal advocate Mike Davis, a conservative supporter of Donald Trump, lodged a complaint on Tuesday against a U.S. federal judge who criticized the former president’s attacks on the New York judge overseeing his upcoming criminal trial in a rare television interview.

Davis, who founded the Article III Project, expressed concerns that U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton’s comments on CNN last week could potentially influence jury pools for Trump’s criminal cases in New York, Washington, D.C., Florida, and Georgia.

In a complaint to the Judicial Council of the District of Columbia Circuit, Davis stated, “A federal judge should not publicly criticize a defendant for exercising his constitutional right to speak out against a pending criminal case, especially on a nationally televised program viewed by potential jurors.”

Walton, a senior federal judge appointed by former President George W. Bush, declined to comment on the matter when reached through a law clerk on Tuesday.

In his CNN interview, Walton expressed his dismay at Trump’s comments about New York Justice Juan Merchan and his daughter, highlighting the unsettling nature of the verbal attacks and the rising threats faced by judges in recent years.

Trump’s social media posts targeting Merchan and his daughter prompted the New York judge to prohibit Trump from singling out family members of individuals involved in the trial.

Walton himself has received threats following his involvement in cases related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack by Trump supporters seeking to overturn the 2020 election results.

It is worth noting that Walton is not overseeing the criminal case against Trump in Washington related to the election outcome.