Eleanor Ross, the U.S. federal judge caught and secretly reprimanded by a judicial panel for having sex with a top police officer in the chambers during work hours, has recused herself from the Georgia election records case.

Mrs Ross, who faces an impeachment threat from U.S. lawmakers over a courthouse sex scandal, quit the Georgia election records case on Tuesday, following a U.S. Department of Justice request that she step aside, citing her partisan attendance at Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ event. 

Announcing her recusal on Tuesday, Mrs Ross said,  “Specifically, this case concerns the Trump administration’s efforts to obtain Georgia’s unredacted voter registration list in furtherance of the administration’s objective to uphold election integrity in Georgia, and Willis is known for her role in the prosecution of President Trump over his alleged interference in Georgia’s elections.” 

The embattled judge explained that she is quitting the case out of “abundance of caution” because her neutrality is being questioned due to her relationship with Mrs Willis, a Democratic Party politician.

Before Mrs Ross’s recusal from the case on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice argued that “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.”

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said in a post on X Tuesday, “Judge Ross has granted our motion to recuse in the Georgia voter rolls litigation. “Glad to see that our specific legal arguments and common sense prevailed in this motion.”

Meanwhile, Mrs Ross risks being impeached for having sex in the courthouse with a police officer during working hours.

Though she admitted, in a letter dated June 11, addressed to a clerk, that her behaviour was harmful, unprofessional and offensive, some U.S. lawmakers have filed for her impeachment.