(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The embattled federal judge reprimanded for engaging in sexual intercourse inside her taxpayer-funded chambers was identified Thursday as U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross, whose jurisdiction includes parts of Georgia.
Nonprofit organization Marco Polo first publicly identified Ross as the judge at the center of the sexual scandal. Ross’s chambers did not respond to Headline USA’s repeated requests for comment.
Bloomberg Law later confirmed Ross’s identity, citing a source familiar with the investigation. Court filing information had also pointed to Ross as the likely judge referenced in the disciplinary proceedings.
This isn't an exclusive in more than one way: Not only did @MarcoPolo501c3 publicly ID the judge before any other outlet, but we also ID'd the @Atlanta_Police paramour. On Tuesday. @SuzanneMonyak, @oliviaalafriz, & @jacq_thomsen need to amend their story with URLs to our work. https://t.co/IfXHRp1iFe pic.twitter.com/uLB1nF5AQ4
— Marco Polo (@MarcoPolo501c3) May 28, 2026
Ross, appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama in 2014, agreed to a series of disciplinary measures imposed by the U.S. Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability of the Judicial Conference.
The allegations date back to September 2025, though Ross formally agreed to the disciplinary measures in February. The committee’s filing detailing the misconduct was publicly released May 22.
Without naming Ross directly, the committee’s filing accused the judge of having an “extramarital affair” with a “high-ranking law enforcement officer.”
Investigators said the judge engaged in sexual intercourse with the officer inside her chambers during business hours.
The filing further revealed that the sex acts occurred “within hearing distance of staff.” Ross also reportedly attended a partisan political event and made false statements to both the chief circuit judge and chief district judge during the investigation.
Law clerks interviewed during the probe even recalled that the judge said she had too many “martinis” the night before at the political event.
As part of the disciplinary agreement, Ross agreed to apologize to the six law clerks she subjected to her misconduct. She must also forgo ever serving as the district’s chief judge if the opportunity ever arises.
Critics on social media blasted the measures as too lenient and demanded that Ross either resign or face further congressional or criminal scrutiny instead.
Before joining the U.S. District Court, Ross worked as a top prosecutor in the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. That office is now led by Fani Willis, the Democrat prosecutor behind Georgia’s criminal case against President Donald Trump.
Willis herself came under scrutiny after revelations that she had a sexual affair with the same prosecutor she appointed to lead the Trump case. The case was ultimately thrown out over the conflict of interest.
