Judge Ross apologizes after probe, impeachment resolutions

A federal judge in Georgia has issued a revised apology to former law clerks following a judicial investigation that found she engaged in sexual activity with a police officer in her chambers and initially lied about it. The disciplinary case against U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross has now prompted two members of Congress to file impeachment resolutions against her.

Judge Ross, who was nominated to the bench in the Northern District of Georgia in 2014, sent a letter dated Thursday to a former clerk apologizing for her "harmful, offensive and unprofessional behavior." In the letter, she wrote that her "actions were patently wrong, and there is no excuse" and acknowledged that a previous apology she sent was "entirely deficient" because she failed to take full responsibility.

The apology follows an investigation initiated last year by Chief Judge William Pryor of the 11th Judicial Circuit. The probe began after a law clerk reported that Ross had engaged in sexual activity with a high-ranking uniformed police officer in her chambers on multiple occasions during working hours. A special committee appointed by Pryor later confirmed the allegations.