The United States is asking a federal judge in Atlanta to recuse herself from an election-related lawsuit, saying her reported appearance at an election event for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis creates “the appearance of bias.”
In a court filing Friday, the federal government sought the recusal of U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross from its lawsuit attempting to get Georgia’s voter registration data from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
The government said Ross has been publicly named by various news reports this week as the federal judge privately reprimanded for having a two-year affair with a high-ranking police officer, in which they had sex in the judge’s chambers multiple times during work hours and within earshot of the judge’s staff.
While the filing references the investigation’s findings regarding “improper sexual activity in chambers,” the Justice Department says that is “not the subject of this motion.”
The reprimanded judge, not identified in official records and statements, was also punished for attending a political campaign event for a district attorney and initially lying to more senior federal judges investigating a complaint about the judge.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution hasn’t independently confirmed the identities of the judge or the police officer.
Ross did not respond Saturday to an inquiry about the recusal request.
On Friday, the clerk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia said Ross had no comment on reports that she is the judge who was reprimanded by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which has jurisdiction in Georgia, Florida and Alabama.
On Thursday, the Atlanta Police Department announced it is investigating whether the officer involved in the affair is an employee.
In seeking Ross’ recusal from the voter registration lawsuit, the federal government said it is worried she attended a political campaign event for Willis, who prosecuted President Donald Trump and his allies in relation to the 2020 presidential election.
“This reported misconduct necessitates Judge Ross’s recusal because, if Judge Ross is indeed the subject judge, it creates the appearance of bias,” it wrote. “A judge who attended a party celebrating the election of a Democrat best known for prosecuting a Republican President for alleged election interference cannot then preside over a case concerning that President’s efforts to ensure election integrity.”
The Trump administration filed the lawsuit in January, claiming Raffensperger refused to hand over Georgia’s unredacted voter registration list, in violation of the Civil Rights Act.
The case was assigned to Ross, appointed as a federal judge in 2014 by then-President Barack Obama. Ross was previously a judge in DeKalb County. Before becoming a judge, she was a prosecutor in DeKalb and Fulton counties.
Notable cases she’s handled as a federal judge include the prosecution of reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley for bank fraud and tax evasion.
In the voter registration case, the federal government also asked to postpone a hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning in Ross’ courtroom. The hearing, scheduled in early April, is to argue Raffensperger’s request for the case to be dismissed.
The federal government said there is “strong evidence” that reports of Ross being the judge reprimanded in part for attending a political campaign event for a district attorney are accurate.
The 11th Circuit’s reprimand explained the political event happened the night before the judge presided over a “criminal revocation proceeding.”
Ross handled such a matter the morning after Willis won the Democratic primary in May 2024, the federal government noted.
“Based on reports identifying Judge Ross as the subject judge, and out of an abundance of caution, the United States urges Judge Ross’s recusal,” it said. “Judge Ross’s reported attendance at Willis’s election party gives rise to an appearance of bias necessitating her recusal.”
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