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FIRST ON FOX: US District Judge Christopher Cooper is facing a misconduct lawsuit from a watchdog group, which it says should have recused itself from a case involving President Donald Trump’s efforts to rename the Kennedy Center.
The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) alleged that Cooper should have withdrawn from the case because his wife, Amy Jeffress, has a history of representing what the group described as “anti-Trump” clients. In May, Cooper ruled against Trump for permanently blocking the renaming of the Kennedy Center after Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, filed the lawsuit.
CASA filed a complaint in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday, alleging that Cooper failed to disclose or recuse himself despite what it called a strong financial and professional interest in his wife’s involvement in the anti-Trump lawsuits.
“CASA is filing a lawsuit against Obama-appointed DC District Court Judge Christopher Cooper for his unethical conduct after he failed to recuse himself from the Kennedy Center’s frivolous lawsuit against President Trump, because his wife had a financial interest in opposing President Trump’s agenda through litigation,” CASA Director of Research and Policy Curtis Schube said in a statement.
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A composite image shows a worker riding an elevator at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, alongside US District Judge Christopher Cooper, who ruled that President Donald Trump’s name be removed from the building. (Getty / and US District Court in DC)
The complaint comes more than a week after Trump criticized Cooper as having a “conflict of interest,” pointing to Cooper’s wife, Amy Jeffress’, history of representing Trump’s biggest enemies, including former anti-Trump FBI agent Lisa Page, and current representative to former President Joe Biden, who is suing Trump’s Justice Department over the release of the Robert Hur record.
“Cooper’s wife is longtime Democrat activist and attorney Amy Jeffress. Jeffress is a former attorney on the January 6 committee, serves as an attorney for former President Biden, and is currently representing Biden in the ongoing lawsuits against President Trump,” Schube said. “There was a clear need for Cooper to recuse himself from the matter, or at least to disclose these allegations. By doing nothing, Cooper caused – at the very least – an inappropriate appearance, which warrants a full investigation.”
The appeal does not challenge Cooper’s decision itself, but says his involvement in the case may raise reasonable questions about his ability to be impartial under the federal judiciary’s Code of Conduct.
Sign up at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Getty Images)
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“We are very concerned that the federal judge did not lower himself and decided to dismiss the case in which he and his partner benefited financially,” the complaint said. “Indeed, a large part of his wife’s business model seems to depend on handling cases that are inherently anti-Trump.”
CASA says Cooper may have violated Canon 1, which requires judges to respect the integrity and independence of the judiciary.
Read the complaint below. App users: Click here
“Canon 1 requires the judge to respect the integrity and independence of the judiciary,” the petition said. “Judge Cooper, most likely, goes home every night to his wife whose name is slated to impeach President Trump.”
CASA argued that Cooper violated Canon 2, which requires judges to avoid situations that may appear improper, even if no actual misconduct occurred.
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on June 10, 2026. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
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“Specifically, Canon 2 enumerates the times when the appearance of a relationship affects a judge’s ability to judge a case: 1) when public confidence is affected; and 2) when a marital relationship influences judicial conduct,” the complaint said. “Both problems exist here.”
The complaint also alleges Cooper violated Canon 3, which requires jurors to remain fair and impartial and that recuse may be authorized when the interests of a juror’s partner or the potential implications of bias may reasonably raise questions about that impartiality.
The complaint concludes by urging the DC Circuit to investigate Cooper and determine whether disciplinary action is warranted.
Appointed by President Barack Obama, Cooper has served at the center US District Court of the District of Columbia in Washington, DC, since 2014.
Cooper has long been the target of conflict-of-interest allegations from Trump and his allies. The judge scrutinized Special Counsel John Durham’s prosecution of former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, who was part of Durham’s extensive investigation into the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation into the idea of Russia colluding with Trump.
Critics say he should have withdrawn because his wife, attorney Amy Jeffress, represented former FBI agent Lisa Page, who is related to the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Cooper and Jeffress for comment.
