The Department of Justice on May 30, 2026 asked U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross to recuse herself from a case involving Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger over election records. The Eleventh Circuit's Judicial Council found misconduct including attending a partisan political event and engaging in extramarital sex in chambers. Fani Willis won the Democratic primary for Fulton County District Attorney in May 2024.
DOJ recusal motion
- ▪The Department of Justice on May 30, 2026 asked U.S. District Court Judge Eleanor Ross to recuse herself from a pending case involving election records
- ▪The Department of Justice recusal motion was filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta
- ▪The Department of Justice does not claim in the filing to have independently identified Eleanor Ross as the judge who was disciplined
- ▪The Department of Justice cited media reports identifying Eleanor Ross as the same judge who was disciplined for attending a victory party for a district attorney's campaign
Judicial misconduct findings
- ▪The unidentified judge initially falsely denied allegations of engaging in extramarital sex in chambers when confronted about them
- ▪CNBC asked two of Eleanor Ross's clerks to ask her to confirm to a reporter whether she is the judge disciplined by the Judicial Council
- ▪Eleanor Ross did not respond to CNBC queries about whether she is the judge disciplined by the Judicial Council
- ▪The Eleventh Circuit's Judicial Council found that the unidentified judge engaged in extramarital sex in chambers with a high-ranking police officer in earshot of their staff
- ▪The Eleventh Circuit's Judicial Council found that a 'Subject Judge' committed judicial misconduct by attending a partisan and political event
- ▪The 11th Circuit sanctions on the unidentified judge included refraining from sitting on any Judicial Conference committee
- ▪The 11th Circuit imposed sanctions on the unidentified judge that included ordering them to write letters of apology to six former law clerks who were interviewed in the probe
- ▪The 11th Circuit sanctions on the unidentified judge included foregoing service as the chief judge in the federal district where they sit
- ▪Eleanor Ross was nominated as a federal judge by then-President Barack Obama in 2014
Fani Willis victory party
- ▪Fani Willis prosecuted President Donald Trump for an alleged conspiracy to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss in Georgia to former President Joe Biden
- ▪Eleanor Ross served as senior assistant district attorney in the Fulton County District Attorney's Office from 1998 through 2002
- ▪Fani Willis won the Democratic primary for Fulton County District Attorney in May 2024
- ▪A photo from Fani Willis' primary election victory party in May 2024 appears to show Eleanor Ross standing in the background holding what appears to be a martini glass
Georgia election records lawsuit
- ▪The Department of Justice lawsuit against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger is part of a probe to ascertain the state's compliance with federal election law
- ▪The Eleventh Judicial Circuit comprises federal courts in Georgia, Florida and Alabama
- ▪The Department of Justice is suing Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger over his refusal to turn over election records to the Justice Department
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