Sex, Lies and Secrets: A Federal Judge’s Trysts Go Public
The New York Times • • nation
Key Points:
- Judge Eleanor Ross, a federal judge in Atlanta, was revealed to have had a clandestine in-office sexual affair with a uniformed police commander, a secret known among her law clerks for years.
- A law clerk eventually reported the affair, prompting a lengthy judicial investigation that included interviews and forensic testing of office furniture for bodily fluids.
- The investigation uncovered multiple ethical breaches, but details were initially kept anonymous due to the federal judiciary's broad deference toward judges.
- Following public disclosure, Judge Ross has faced calls for impeachment from Republican members of Congress, a Justice Department request for recusal from a key election integrity case, and criticism from fellow judges over the leniency of her punishment.
- The Atlanta Police Department is also investigating the involvement of one of its senior officers connected to the affair.