DOJ seeks judge's recusal in Georgia election records fight tied to Fani Willis controversy

A federal court fight over Georgia election records has taken another dramatic turn, as the U.S. Department of Justice is now asking a judge overseeing the case to recuse herself over alleged ties to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. 

This adds yet another layer of controversy to the sprawling legal aftermath of the now-defunct 2020 election in Georgia.

The request, first reported by The Associated Press, centers on allegations tied to a confidential judicial misconduct investigation involving U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross, though The Associated Press said it has not independently confirmed Ross was the unnamed judge referenced in disciplinary records. 

AP reported the Justice Department is relying on media reports identifying Ross as the judge involved. 

Ross has not publicly commented on the allegations.

The recusal request comes as Ross oversees an ongoing legal battle between the Justice Department and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger over access to statewide voter records, an ongoing dispute that has increasingly become entangled in the broader political and legal fallout surrounding former President Donald Trump's efforts to challenge the 2020 election results in Georgia.

According to AP reporting, the Justice Department argues Ross' alleged attendance at an event honoring Willis creates an "appearance of bias" because Willis became nationally known for prosecuting Trump and his allies in the Georgia election interference case.

"A judge who attended a party celebrating the election of a Democrat best known for prosecuting a Republican President for alleged election interference cannot then preside over a case concerning that President's efforts to ensure election integrity," Justice Department lawyers wrote in the filing, according to AP.

The filing references a confidential judicial disciplinary matter within the 11th Circuit involving an unnamed federal judge who allegedly attended a partisan political event and later received a private reprimand. AP reported the filing also references allegations involving inappropriate conduct inside courthouse chambers, though DOJ lawyers said those claims were not central to the recusal request.

The allegations arrive at a time when Georgia's election-related legal battles — once centered almost entirely on Trump and the 2020 election — have evolved into a broader fight over transparency, prosecutorial conduct, federal authority and public trust in the institutions tasked with overseeing elections themselves.

CBS News has extensively reported on the unraveling legal saga surrounding Fulton County's election investigation and its aftermath.

In December 2024, an appeals court removed Willis from the Trump election interference case over what judges described as an "appearance of impropriety" stemming from her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

Months later, the case itself was effectively dismantled, but the controversies surrounding it only intensified.

CBS News Atlanta previously reported on: 

• Fulton County's failed mediation efforts with the federal government over seized election records. 
• Claims by county officials that FBI seizures of election records violated constitutional protections. 
• Legal fights over millions of dollars in attorney fee demands tied to the collapsed prosecution. 
• Body camera footage capturing confusion surrounding FBI seizures of election-related records in Fulton County.

The latest recusal dispute adds another institutional question to an already complicated picture: why do so many of Georgia's post-2020 election investigations continue to spiral into allegations involving secrecy, procedural disputes and perceived conflicts of interest?

The current election records lawsuit itself has little to do with the original criminal prosecution of Trump. Instead, the case focuses on whether Georgia can legally withhold certain voter information from the federal government.

Raffensperger has argued state law protects confidential voter data unless specific legal conditions are met. AP reported the secretary of state's office previously provided the Justice Department with public portions of the voter rolls while withholding protected information.

But the political weight surrounding anything connected to Georgia's election system remains enormous — particularly after years of litigation, investigations and public accusations involving everyone from local prosecutors to federal agents.

Ross, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama in 2014, previously worked in the Fulton County District Attorney's Office before becoming a federal judge. AP reported she overlapped professionally with Willis during that time.

The Justice Department has now asked for Wednesday's scheduled hearing in the election records case to be delayed pending the recusal request.

Meanwhile, the broader questions surrounding Georgia's election institutions continue to deepen.

What began as investigations into alleged election interference has increasingly become a series of investigations into the investigators themselves.