Congress asked to consider impeaching Trump-appointed judge accused of sex misconduct

A Trump-appointed federal judge in Alaska who was forced to resign in July amid sexual misconduct accusations could now face impeachment, according to a report.

Judge Joshua Kindred, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, abruptly moved to step down earlier this summer, but at the time, did not give a reason.

Shortly thereafter, the Judicial Council of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit released a report going into extensive detail about the allegations against Kindred, and announced that he was pressured into resigning under referral to the Judicial Conference to consider impeachment.

On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that federal judiciary leaders asked Congress to consider impeaching Kindred. The post cited a spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia, who is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, told the Post in a statement he's "glad that the Judicial Conference is taking these allegations seriously by certifying this matter to the House for consideration of impeachment.”

"Unwanted, offensive, and abusive sexual conduct and harassment have no place in America, and we must ensure that our federal court system is held to the same standard as every other workplace," he said.

A blistering ethics complaint found Kindred rated people based on "f---ability" in the presence of subordinates and retaliated against clerks who came forward to say they were uncomfortable with his behavior.

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The report detailed that he also pursued an "inappropriately sexualized relationship" with a law clerk who later went on to become an assistant U.S. attorney. The clerk told investigators that one night, when Kindred was driving her home, he stopped over at the courthouse, brought her up to his chambers, kissed her and groped her buttocks. Then in October 2022, she said, during a pizza party she threw for him to celebrate his move, he lured her into a bedroom, pulled her pants off, and performed oral sex on her.

The committee further found that Kindred's account of these events, which differed from the clerk's, was dishonest."

Given these facts, we have no doubt that Judge Kindred, through his false statements, obstructed, influenced, and impeded these JC&D proceedings, or at the very least, attempted to obstruct, influence, or impede these proceedings," stated the Judicial Committee's report. "The false statements that Judge Kindred has made throughout these proceedings, along with the severity of Judge Kindred’s misconduct, may constitute one or more grounds for impeachment."