An Obama-appointed federal judge who blocked President Donald Trump’s name from appearing on the Kennedy Center has been hit with a formal judicial misconduct complaint. The conservative watchdog group behind the filing argues that U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper should have recused himself because of his wife’s legal work for prominent Trump opponents. The complaint accuses Cooper of creating at least the appearance of a serious conflict of interest.
The dispute began after the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously on December 18th, 2025, to rename the Washington, D.C., venue the Trump-Kennedy Center. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) filed a lawsuit challenging the change four days later. Cooper permanently blocked the renaming on May 29th, 2026, ruling that the board had exceeded its authority and that only Congress could change the institution’s formal name.
The Center to Advance Security in America, or CASA, dated its complaint June 9th and submitted it to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. CASA alleges Cooper should have disclosed or recused himself over the work of his wife, attorney Amy Jeffress. The group asked the appeals court to investigate Cooper and discipline him if it determines that he violated the federal judiciary’s rules.
As Fox News reported, CASA Director of Research and Policy Curtis Schube accused Cooper of “potentially unethical behavior” in handling the Kennedy Center lawsuit. “There was a clear need for Cooper to recuse himself from this matter, or at the very least disclose these conflicts,” Schube said. “By doing neither, Cooper caused — at the very least — an appearance of impropriety, which warrants a full investigation.”
The complaint cites three sections of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges. Canon 1 directs judges to uphold the judiciary’s integrity and independence, while Canon 2 requires them to avoid impropriety and its appearance. Canon 3 requires judges to perform their duties fairly and impartially and calls for disqualification when a judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including when a spouse has an interest that could be substantially affected by a case.
Jeffress has represented several figures and organizations involved in legal battles with Trump. She represented former FBI lawyer Lisa Page during congressional scrutiny and in litigation against the FBI and Justice Department, later served as outside counsel to the House January 6 committee and currently represents former President Joe Biden. Biden’s lawsuit seeks to prevent the Trump Justice Department from releasing recordings from former special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents.
Cooper previously faced recusal questions during Special Counsel John Durham’s prosecution of Clinton campaign-linked attorney Michael Sussmann. Critics pointed to Jeffress’ representation of Page, whose anti-Trump text messages with former FBI official Peter Strzok became a major controversy, although Page did not work on the Crossfire Hurricane investigation itself. Cooper allowed the Sussmann prosecution to proceed to trial, where a jury acquitted Sussmann in May 2022.
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CASA said its complaint does not challenge the legal merits of Cooper’s Kennedy Center decision. Instead, the group argues that his wife’s ongoing work in cases involving Trump created a financial and professional interest that should have prompted disclosure or recusal. “We are deeply concerned with the fact that a sitting federal judge did not recuse himself, and adjudicated to disposition, a case from which he and his spouse financially benefit,” the complaint states.
The group further argued that judges must avoid circumstances that damage public confidence even when actual bias cannot be proven. Fox News said it contacted Cooper and Jeffress for comment following the filing. CASA concluded its complaint by asking that Cooper “be investigated and, if found to have violated any of the above Canons, disciplined by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.”