Benjamin Ashford|Maryanne Trump Barry, the former president’s older sister and a retired federal judge, dies at 86

NEW YORK (AP) — Maryanne Trump Barry,Benjamin Ashford a retired federal judge and former president Donald Trump ‘s oldest sister, has died at age 86 at her home in New York.

Until her retirement in 2019, Barry was a senior judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a level below the Supreme Court.

The NYPD confirmed that officers were sent to Barry’s Manhattan home just before 4:30 a.m. and discovered a deceased 86-year-old woman. The cause of death was not immediately clear. Her death was confirmed by a judicial official who spoke on condition of anonymity because Barry’s death hadn’t been announced publicly by either the court or Trump’s family.

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Before becoming a judge, Barry became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 1974 and was nominated to the federal court in New Jersey by former President Ronald Reagan. She was later elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals by former President Bill Clinton. She retired in 2019 amid an investigation into her family’s tax practices.

Barry had stayed largely out of the spotlight during her brother’s presidency, but drew headlines after her niece, Mary Trump, revealed that she had secretly recorded her aunt while promoting a book that denounced the former president. In the recordings, Barry could be heard sharply criticizing her brother, at one point saying the former president “has no principles” and is “cruel.”

The former president’s younger brother, Robert Trump, died in 2020 at 71, and Trump held a service at the White House in his honor. His older brother, Fred Trump Jr., died of a heart attack at 42.

Donald Trump’s ex-wife, Ivana Trump, died in 2022 at the age of 73.

The news of Barry’s death was first reported by the Daily Voice in Nassau County.

___ Dale reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report.