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President’s Perspective
On April 2, 2024 the College issued a press release and statement condemning abusive ad hominem remarks made by former President Trump via his Truth Social account. These personal attacks were directed at several state and federal judges handling mat-
ters in which Mr. Trump was a named defendant, and he also continued his attacks
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on the motives of the prosecutors pursuing those matters. As reflected in the Col-
lege’s statement, the attacks included accusations that the judges and prosecutors
were “sick,” “deranged,” “evil,” “corrupt” and “crooked.” The Truth Social comments
included a posting of a photograph of one of the judge’s daughters, along with an accu-
sation that she was “a Rabid Trump Hater.” One posted comment included a false claim
that the judge’s daughter had disseminated on a social media site a photo-shopped
picture of the former President behind bars. These recent attacks prompted United
States District Judge Reggie B. Walton to appear on a news program, noting that such
widely disseminated comments can undermine the public’s trust in the rule of law, and
that they also carry the threat of potential physical harm to judges seeking to carry
out their duties. The College’s statement, Judge Walton’s news interview, and state-
ments made by the ABA and other organizations received significant public attention.