Never thought we’d write this headline: Conflicted Obama-appointed judge actually recuses herself
Pictured: U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross
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With all the cases in recent months that a presiding judge should have stepped away from, here’s a switch: one judge actually has recused herself.
Believe it or not, U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross paid attention to a Justice Department motion highlighting concerns over her impartiality because of her attendance at a campaign event for Fulton County, Georgia, DA Fani Willis. (Yes, Willis is still the district attorney there, and, yes, this judge apparently supports her, God knows why.) This judge is supposed to maintain political neutrality and refrain from attending such partisan events while she’s on the bench. The case at issue, led by assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, has to do with access to the state’s voter rolls.
The Obama-appointed Judge Ross has already faced other judicial sanctions related to the 2020 election. She had initially declined to step aside from this case, but ultimately decided to recuse herself, apparently having seen the writing on the wall.
Of course, you know Fani Willis and her boy-toy lead prosecutor for their attempt to railroad President Trump and a list of “co-conspirators” in a ginned-up RICO case (!) in the aftermath of the 2020 election. But that was not to be.
Assistant AG Dhillon posted on X: “Glad to see that our specific legal arguments and common sense prevailed in this motion.”
Judge Ross wrote that “...perceived support of Willis’ position on election integrity could cause an objective observer to significantly doubt the undersigned impartiality in the case. Therefore, out of an abundance of caution for the potential perception of bias, the undersigned [Ross] will disqualify herself from further proceedings in this case.”
So now the case will be passed to another judge. Recusals hardly ever happen these days, even in cases where the need for them seems as glaring as can be. So it’s interesting to see this happening. “As Dhillon and her team continue pressing forward,” contributor Sam J. writes for Twitchy, “it’s a clear signal that the days of unchecked judicial coziness with Democratic prosecutors like Fani Willis will be numbered.”
One can only hope. But take this as a success, as the precedent is a step in the right direction.
(Incidentally, if Judge Ross’ name sounds familiar, you might have seen it in connection with another current story that’s so unsavory, we’ll just link you to CNN for the details. This could lead to her impeachment. It does perhaps explain why she would feel a certain kinship with Fani Willis.)
RELATED STORY: One judge who is not at all concerned with appearing partisan is DC District Court Judge Christopher Cooper, who issued a court order last month in the matter of Trump’s name being added to the outside of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Needless to say, it did not go Trump’s way, with the court saying his name should be stripped from the front of the building. Judge Cooper called the Center “a living memorial” to Kennedy. For when you have time, here’s Judge Cooper’s ruling on the issue, with the part about renaming the building starting on Page 30.
The deadline for Trump’s name to be taken off was last Friday. On Thursday, as reported by Julie Kelly, “In a last-ditch effort, the Department of Justice asked Cooper...to delay his order pending the outcome of an emergency appeal before the DC Circuit Court. Cooper quickly denied the motion --- so Trump-haters and reporters (I repeat myself) stood watch [as Trump’s name came down].”
As Kelly quips while describing the event, “MS-NOW covered the event LIVE as if reporting on the ground from the beaches of Normandy.”
When, on Friday, the DC Circuit Court denied the administration’s emergency request, “the news made the anti-Trump establishment as buzzed as the first sip of a pinot grigio on a perfect Friday summer eve in Georgetown.”
Reporters were thrilled, with some pointing to a rainbow appearing as Trump’s name was removed, signifying Mother Nature’s approval. Democrats in Congress made a huge deal out of this, with Rep. Ted Lieu of California calling it a victory for “the American people” after Trump had “illegally” tried to add his name to the building he was going to restore.
But Judge Cooper, in Kelly’s words, “is the subject of a misconduct complaint for handling the case despite his wife’s [Amy Jeffress’]representation of anti-Trump clients including Joe Biden in his recent attempt to prevent the release of recordings between himself and his ghostwriter. As we recently reported, Jeffress also served as counsel to Nancy Pelosi’s “Select” Committee investigating events surrounding the January 6 riot. Here’s the letter to the DC Circuit Court from CASA (the Center to Advance Security in America).
“...We are deeply concerned,” the complaint reads, “with the fact that a sitting federal judge did not recuse himself, and adjudicated to disposition, a case from which he and his spouse financially benefit. Indeed, a large portion of his wife’s business model appears to to rely on handling litigation that is anti-Trump in nature.”
In fairness, there’s so much anti-Trump litigation everywhere you step in DC that it must be hard for any attorney or judge to keep from tripping over some. But this seems like a pretty obvious conflict, and the legal complaint makes quite entertaining reading. “Judge Cooper presumably goes home every night to his wife whose career is predicated on suing President Trump,” the complaint reads. “...Not only does Judge Cooper have a pecuniary interest in suing President Trump --- he also has a marital interest.” It calls for Cooper to be investigated and, depending on what is found, disciplined by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.
Kelly makes the case that Judge Cooper, for years, should have recused himself from all Trump-related cases, including J6 cases, of which he handled dozens. We at the HP have discussed Cooper and wife Jeffress before in that context, noting how unabashedly chummy they were with the partisan DC Swamp. (Among other examples of this, the two were married by former Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Jeffress was the attorney for disgraced FBI agent Lisa Page. Judge Cooper seems to have had no concern whatsoever about the appearance of impropriety, let alone actual impropriety.
The real story is not that Judge Ross recused. The real story is how rare that has become. In case after case, the anti-Trump legal world tells Americans to ignore obvious conflicts, partisan social circles, political spouses, campaign friendships, and judicial attitudes that would get ordinary lawyers torched in any ethics seminar. Meanwhile, Judge Christopher Cooper sits on Trump-related matters while his household is tied to anti-Trump legal work, and the swamp pretends nobody can see the problem. Ross did the right thing, finally. Good. Now make it contagious. Recusal should not be a miracle. It should be normal.
Judges with no integrity are THE problem with the United States of America. They should be removed from the bench.