Trump ally files ethics complaint against judge who criticized his rhetoric on CNN

A federal judge who appeared on CNN to speak out against Donald Trump's rhetoric has been hit with an ethics complaint from one of the former president's allies, according to a new report.

Mike Davis's new complaint was reported Tuesday evening by Newsweek.

"A judge should not make public comment on the merits of a matter pending or impending in any court," read the complaint from Davis, president of the conservative Article III Project.

In his complaint, Davis raises concerns about Judge Reggie Walton, who appeared on CNN to discuss Trump comments directed toward the judge overseeing his New York hush money criminal trial.

“We are seeing a dangerous pattern in which DC federal judges, like … Reggie Walton have convinced themselves they have a duty — unbounded by the judicial canons — to make extrajudicial pronouncements about President Trump,” Davis wrote in the 13-page complaint.

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Speaking to the New York Post, Davis said he intends to “send a very clear message” to other judges, especially in DC, that they “cannot take off their political robes and climb into the political arena.”

During his CNN appearance, Walton said "it’s very disconcerting to have someone making comments about a judge, and it’s particularly problematic when those comments are in the form of a threat, especially if they are directed at one’s family."

“We do these jobs because we’re committed to the rule of law & we believe in the rule of law and the rule of law can only function effectively when we have judges who are prepared to carry out their duties without the threat of potential physical harm," Walton added.

In his complaint, Davis said a reasonable person "cannot read President Trump’s posts and draw the conclusion that he made any such threat."

“President Trump, for example, did not dox the home addresses of the judge and his adult daughter. Nor did President Trump encourage illegal protests outside of their homes," the complaint read.

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