Main: President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon). Left inset: U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross (U.S. District Court). Right inset: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis looks on during a hearing on the Georgia election interference case, March 1, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Slitz, Pool).
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is taking a firm stance, urging a federal judge to make a timely decision on whether she should recuse herself from a lawsuit concerning Georgia’s voter rolls. The DOJ has set a deadline for this decision and has hinted at the possibility of involving an appeals court if the judge does not comply.
In an emergency motion submitted on Wednesday, Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General of the DOJ Civil Rights Division, pressed U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross to decide by June 12. The motion cited concerns over “judicial misconduct” that has already stalled the litigation process. This case involves Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, who is resisting federal requests for an unredacted statewide voter registration list. This request comes amid an ongoing DOJ criminal investigation into Fulton County and the 2020 presidential election that saw Joe Biden emerge victoriously.
Meanwhile, motions to dismiss the case for failing to state a claim are still pending, with a hearing initially scheduled for Wednesday. However, Judge Ross postponed the hearing, stating that she will not make a ruling until she addresses the DOJ’s motion for her disqualification.
In response, the DOJ has sought to apply pressure on Judge Ross, setting a clear deadline of June 12 for her decision on recusal. The DOJ emphasized the urgency due to the upcoming elections, which begin with early voting in mid-October. They argued that voters deserve assurance that their elections are secure and free from issues like noncitizen voting, deceased individuals on the rolls, and duplicate voter registrations in Georgia.
The DOJ expressed frustration over the delays, claiming they are not at fault. They warned that if Judge Ross does not voluntarily step aside, they may consider filing a writ of mandamus with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to compel her recusal.
Complaining of delays that are “no fault” of its own, the government warned that it will consider filing a petition for a writ of mandamus with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to force Ross out if she doesn’t leave on her own.
“If the Court denies the Motion, delays may nonetheless continue, should the United States exercise its right to immediately challenge that decision through a petition for a writ of mandamus,” the filing said, citing a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals case in which mandamus “requir[ed] recusal where the judge was close friends with the defendant.”
The DOJ referenced recent reports of a private reprimand against a judge for “engaging in an extramarital affair with a high-ranking law enforcement officer and having sexual intercourse in the judge’s chambers during business hours within hearing distance of staff,” by “attending a partisan political event” for Fulton County DA Fani Willis, and by “making false statements to the Chief Circuit Judge and Chief District Judge that were material to the investigation of the allegations.”
On one occasion, the reprimand said, Ross told staff she had “too many martinis the night before” at an event for an unidentified DA.
As Law&Crime reported, the reprimand named neither Ross nor Willis, a Democrat who tried and failed to prosecute President Donald Trump in a sprawling election interference RICO action. News reports and the use of AI exposed what was hidden behind redactions, however, and the DOJ sought Ross’ disqualification.
