ATLANTA (AP) 鈥� A federal judge who was disciplined after an investigation found that she had in her chambers and attended a partisan event, then lied when confronted with the allegations, has recused herself in a fight over Georgia election records after the U.S. Department of Justice raised questions about her ability to be impartial.
The Justice Department sought to remove U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross from the case, citing her reported attendance at an event for Fulton County District Attorney , who prosecuted President . Ross on Tuesday filed an order recusing herself, writing that she was doing so 鈥渙ut of an abundance of caution for the potential perception of bias.鈥�
The Justice Department had sued Georgia seeking an unredacted statewide voter list, and Ross was presiding over that case.
鈥淏oth the Trump administration’s present and Willis’s past efforts have become heavily polarized,鈥� Ross wrote, explaining that she 鈥渃annot discount鈥� that an objective observer might interpret her attendance at an event sponsored by Willis’ campaign as support for the district attorney’s position, even if she only went to see former colleagues.
Ross after a court investigation found that she had sex in the courthouse with a high-ranking uniformed police officer within earshot of staff, attended a partisan event and then initially lied to deny the allegations.
The investigation report says Ross went to an event hosted by a district attorney鈥檚 campaign. The judge said the district attorney had been a friend since 1999 and acknowledged having gone to the a private mixer held on the sidelines of the event to visit with former colleagues in the district attorney鈥檚 office.
Ross previously worked in the Fulton County District Attorney鈥檚 Office and overlapped there with Willis there before Willis was district attorney.
Willis in August 2023 against , accusing them of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to overturn Georgia鈥檚 2020 election results. That case was in November.
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