removed

A Los Angeles County judge who has been accused of sexual harassment, making racist remarks and mistreating fellow members of the bench was officially removed from office Tuesday, officials said.

The state Commission on Judicial Performance upheld 17 findings of misconduct against Judge Robert Draper, 84, according to a disciplinary document made public Tuesday.

“Judge Draper persistently violated the standards governing judicial behavior and engaged in extensive and severe misconduct,” the commission said in a statement. “Judge Draper’s misconduct reflected either a concerning lack of familiarity with ethical precepts, or an unwillingness to conform to those precepts.”

Earlier this year, Draper compared the commission to the “Russian Mafia” in an interview with The Times where he denied all wrongdoing and claimed the charges were political payback for his opposition to another judge’s bid to become L.A. County’s presiding justice.

In an e-mail to The Times, Draper said the commission’s ruling was “wrong” and that he plans to seek review from the California Supreme Court, which he said “will look at the actual facts and not simply the characterization of those facts by the Examiners.”

“Kind of like what every citizen is entitled to – a presumption of innocence, a fair opportunity to be heard by an unbiased panel, decision makers who are willing to actually look at the real facts in a complete way and apply the legally required standard of proof rather than simply reciting it, and then ignoring it,” he wrote. “It just amazes me that I have had to go this far in order to have these standards for the first time applied.”

The Commission has only ordered the removal of 14 judges across the state since 2002, according to its website.

The removal order was the final step in a years-long fall from grace for Draper. A well-respected veteran member of the bench, colleagues began expressing concern about his decline in 2022. In 2023, according to a letter sent to the state commission, he was barred from hearing cases and re-assigned to a Santa Monica Courthouse department that colleagues likened to a “closet.” When a Times reporter visited the building earlier this year, staff on site said Draper almost never came in.

In letters sent to the commission in 2022 and 2023, two of the L.A. County Superior Court’s top judges accused Draper of sending abusive e-mails to colleagues replete with racist and abusive language. In one letter, then-Presiding Justice Samantha Jessner said Draper was “unable to carry out the duties and responsibilities of a judge” due to deteriorating mental and physical health.

“He has demonstrated a flagging handle on reality,” L.A. County Superior Court Judge Eric Taylor wrote.

Draper was accused of sexual harassment, making racist remarks and callous behavior all over the course of one hearing in 2022.

According to court records and testimony given at Draper’s six-day removal hearing earlier this year, the judge allegedly stroked a female lawyer’s hair after going on a tangent to a Black attorney about “Black history, Black football players, the Civil Rights Act, and the Black Lives Matter movement,” even though the case had nothing to do with those issues.

The commission described Draper’s misconduct as “extensive” and argued his alleged racist behavior continued while testifying in his May removal hearing. While testifying he referred two specific Black people as “very black in terms of pigmentation” and “way Black,” according to the commission.

He was also accused of making crude remarks to a group of female attorneys while in chambers. Reflecting on his time as a civil attorney, he recalled how male lawyers would deride female secretaries, insisting they learn to “f— better than they could type,” according to testimony given by attorney Janice Brown at Draper’s hearing earlier this year.

Draper lost his bid for re-election in June to former L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. Tal K. Valbuena by nearly 13 points, after the L.A. County Bar Assn. rated Draper as “unqualified” for service.

The race highlighted the lengths the insular judicial community would go to protect their own from election challenges. Despite well-known concerns about Draper’s fitness, a political action committee run by fellow judges gave $72,500 to his campaign, state election finance records show. The PAC did not respond to prior inquiries from The Times.

A fellow judge, speaking on condition of anonymity because judges are not allowed to speak to the press, described the end of Draper’s career as a “super sad situation.”

“Perhaps it should spur California to consider enacting what most states have — a mandatory retirement age,” the judge said.

This Morning returned to screens today after it was pulled from air

This Morning returned to screens today after it was suddenly pulled off air yesterday.

Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley addressed the chaos that took place on Wednesday, which resulted in This Morning being removed from the schedule altogether.

Cat said: “Hello there and welcome to your Thursday’s This Morning. Back up and running, someone’s stuck 50p in the meter, we are all good to go.”

Ben added: “There was a power cut across the whole of Covent Garden apparently, which meant that we weren’t on air. But despite that, your hair is looking rather lovely this week.”

He added: “Even when there’s a power cut, you still get our hair done”, as Cat replied: “There was one lamp working so we did it by lamp light, the water was still working at that point.”

Ben later commented: “Thank you to the team that managed to get everything back up and running again because it was a lot of hard work. But fingers crossed we are fully charged and ready to go.”

It comes after ITV was plunged into chaos yesterday (Wednesday, November 4) following an unexpected event which led to a last-minute scheduling change.

Three popular daytime programmes, Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women, were pulled off air shortly before they were due to begin as ITV viewers were left confused.

Due to a power outage at ITV’s central London studio, Lorraine was the first show to be pulled off air, with Good Morning Britain hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls confirming the news on their live show.

As a result, GMB was extended until 10am. However, in further disruption, This Morning was then pulled from TV schedules, instead airing a pre-recorded best bits programme, followed by Loose Women also being pulled.

At the time, ITV issued a statement on social media, with the programmes expected to be back to their normal scheduling today (Thursday, November 5).

They wrote: “Following a power cut overnight in the wider area where our Covent Garden studio is based, we are unable to broadcast Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women live today. We will return to our normal schedule as soon as possible.”

This is a breaking showbiz story and is being constantly updated. Please refresh the page regularly to get the latest news, pictures and videos. You can also get email updates on the day’s biggest stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our newsletters.

This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV

A New York Times investigation links Democratic operatives to a namesake candidate in Alaska’s Senate race.

US President Donald Trump has called for the removal and prosecution of two candidates in Alaska’s Senate race, accusing Democrats of orchestrating a scheme to mislead voters.

Trump’s demand on Wednesday followed a New York Times investigation into efforts by people linked to Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign to recruit candidates who could draw support from Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, including a retired teacher with the same name.

The November 3 vote could help determine control of the US Senate, Congress’s upper chamber.

In Truth Social posts on Wednesday, Trump accused Peltola and Daniel J Sullivan Jr of election fraud and called for both to be removed from the ballot and prosecuted.

He described the alleged operation as “Voter Fraud at the Highest Level” and accused Democrats of lying under oath.

The Times noted that recruiting candidates to split an opponent’s vote – a practice known as ballot stacking – is generally legal and has been used by both parties in Alaska.

The two Sullivans are among four candidates in Alaska’s ranked-choice election.

Voters rank candidates by preference, with votes transferred if a first choice is eliminated. The ballot identifies the sitting senator as an incumbent Republican.

His namesake says he entered the race independently.

The Times reported that the effort began in 2025, when a Peltola aide was asked to identify Alaskans named Dan Sullivan.

Citing interviews and messages, it said Peltola advisers and officials from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which supports Democratic Senate candidates, discussed ways to reshape the ballot.

The newspaper identified Democratic operative Jerid Kurtz as a recruiter who approached potential candidates, sometimes under an assumed name.

It also reported that another Democrat withdrew after an approach from Kurtz, opening a place for Republican Gerald Heikes, who said he too had been encouraged to run.

Peltola’s former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, told the Times that Peltola knew about the operation but did not participate directly.

Rios later sought to withdraw her statements and the newspaper said other evidence supported its reporting.

Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic campaign committee denied recruiting candidates. Her campaign said political threats from Washington would not stop her candidacy.

Senator Sullivan accused Peltola of deceiving voters on Fox News on Wednesday.

Recruiting candidates to divide an opponent’s support is generally legal, the Times noted, and both major parties have used such tactics in Alaska.

The state’s Supreme Court upheld the retired teacher’s right to stand in June.

Trump’s Justice Department, the federal government’s legal arm, sued Alaska last week, seeking to delay certification if Senator Sullivan loses and votes for his namesake could have affected the outcome.

Alaska has asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that it lacks legal grounds.