Statement from FTC executive director Gabe Roth on the sudden retirement of Third Circuit Judge Maryanne Trump Barry:

We have reached a crisis point, as three federal judges credibly accused of harassment – Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit, Richard Roberts of the D.C. District and Walter Smith of the Western District of Texas – and another, Maryanne Barry of the Third Circuit, accused of tax fraud, have in the last few years been able to retire to avoid punishment, all while maintaining their six-figure annual pensions.

If the courts are serious about maintaining public trust, they’d work with Congress to create a procedure under which retirement would no longer foreclose the judicial complaint process.

Otherwise, impeachment is the only remedy, and that isn’t a realistic outcome given the political nature of that process.