Two Republican members of Congress from Georgia have introduced resolutions seeking the impeachment of a federal judge after an investigation found she engaged in sexual activity in her chambers, attended a partisan political event and initially denied the allegations to investigators.<\/p>\n
U.S. Reps. Clay Fuller and Andrew Clyde filed the impeachment resolutions against U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross, who serves on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.<\/p>\n
Clyde announced the move on social media Tuesday, arguing that Ross\u2019 conduct demonstrated she could no longer serve with the impartiality expected of a federal judge.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer deeply disturbing actions prove she is incapable of displaying integrity or impartiality,\u201d Clyde wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe must be impeached and removed from the bench,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The impeachment resolutions now place the matter before the House Judiciary Committee, which would decide whether to begin formal proceedings.<\/p>\n
Federal judges hold lifetime appointments under the Constitution and can only be removed through impeachment by the House and conviction in the Senate.<\/p>\n
Ross declined to comment when reached through her chambers on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The judge was nominated by then-President Barack Obama in 2014 and confirmed by the Senate later that year after previously serving as a state court judge in DeKalb County, Georgia.<\/p>\n
Before joining the bench, she spent more than a decade working as both a state and federal prosecutor in the Atlanta area.<\/p>\n
The misconduct investigation began after one of Ross\u2019 law clerks reported that the judge had engaged in sexual activity with a high-ranking uniformed police officer inside her chambers on multiple occasions.<\/p>\n
According to the complaint, some of those encounters allegedly occurred within earshot of courthouse staff.<\/p>\n
The clerk also accused Ross of failing to properly supervise employees and of verbally mistreating members of her staff.<\/p>\n
Following an investigation conducted within the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Ross received a private reprimand.<\/p>\n
The disciplinary proceeding concluded that the allegations involving sexual activity were substantiated.<\/p>\n
Investigators also determined that Ross attended a partisan political event and initially denied the misconduct when first questioned.<\/p>\n
Although the disciplinary order did not publicly identify the judge by name, a person familiar with the matter confirmed that Ross was the subject of the investigation.<\/p>\n
Chief Judge William Pryor of the 11th Circuit initiated the inquiry after receiving the clerk\u2019s complaint.<\/p>\n
When first contacted by Pryor, Ross specifically denied each allegation and suggested the clerk may have fabricated the accusations in retaliation for workplace issues.<\/p>\n
Pryor later appointed a special committee to conduct a more extensive investigation.<\/p>\n
According to the committee\u2019s report, security logs and surveillance footage documented repeated visits by a uniformed police officer to Ross\u2019 chambers around lunchtime.<\/p>\n
Multiple law clerks also reported seeing an individual matching the officer\u2019s description and said they overheard sounds they believed indicated sexual activity.<\/p>\n
The investigation additionally examined allegations involving Ross\u2019 supervision of clerks and interns.<\/p>\n
Several clerks told investigators that Ross provided little substantive guidance on legal work and rarely edited draft orders prepared by staff.<\/p>\n
Although employees described an \u201ceggshell culture\u201d within chambers, investigators did not find sufficient evidence to conclude Ross engaged in abusive workplace behavior.<\/p>\n
Ross ultimately admitted to investigators that she had maintained an extramarital sexual relationship with the officer.<\/p>\n
She denied claims that she mistreated staff and disputed allegations related to partisan political activity.<\/p>\n