Trump-Appointed Judge Faces Impeachment Over Sexual Misconduct Allegations

A Trump-appointed judge may be impeached after an internal investigation found he had been sexually inappropriate with a law clerk and created a "hostile work environment" for employees.

Judge Joshua Kindred, of the Alaska federal district court, who was appointed by the former president in 2020, resigned last week, after he was asked to do so voluntarily by the Judicial Council.

The matter has also been put forward to be considered for impeachment which would serve as a public reprimand and prevent Kindred from serving in any future judicial or public office.

The scandal emerged after a complaint made against Kindred sparked a probe by a Special Committee, which concluded that he had "engaged in misconduct by having an inappropriately sexualized relationship with one of his law clerks."

It also found that Kindred's staff were subjected to their senior "engaging in unwanted, offensive, and abusive conduct, and treating the law clerks in a demonstrably egregious and hostile manner."

While Kindred eventually admitted that he had "failed to exercise appropriate boundaries and crossed lines (he) should not have crossed," he denied sinister intent and does not agree with all the details of the clerk's version of events—especially the consent aspect.

"In view of these findings," and several instances where Kindred was caught lying about his behavior, the Judicial Council said he has "engaged in conduct that might constitute one or more grounds for impeachment under Article II of the Constitution."

Article II, Section 4 says: "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

The details of the alleged sexual misconduct with a clerk include exchanging 278 pages worth of text messages with her, including messages such as: "I've missed you this week which makes me worry about the emotion[al] wreck I'm going to be when you leave."

They kissed on October 3, 2022, after they had been out for drinks and, on the way home, Kindred asked her to "come upstairs to his chambers" and "sit on the couch with him" before he "kissed her and grabbed her buttocks," the clerk reported.

Kindred's version of events said that it was the clerk who had asked to meet for drinks, not him, and that she had told him she was in love with him, asked to "come up to chambers," initiated the kiss and "propositioned him on the way home."

But the 30-page court order says these denials were "belied by documentary evidence," which Kindred later "admitted," saying the kisses were actually "mutual" after being confronted with the evidence.

Another incident took place on October 7, 2022, when the clerk had thrown Kindred a moving out pizza party and felt he was "hitting on (her) openly in front of the (other) clerks."

She left and eventually asked Kindred to pick her up so they could speak in person. They started talking in Kindred's truck but, it was cold and Kindred suggested they talk in his temporary Airbnb.

The clerk said Kindred kept shouting for her to "come to the bedroom" before he "insisted" she lie down.

She told the investigation: "[H]e started putting his hands on me. And so I remember the first time he like grabbed my boob, and I like grabbed his like forearm, and I remember thinking like he felt really strong and I tried to like pull his arm off of me …

"I just remember thinking like there's nothing I can do about this, like this is about to happen … I remember him saying something about like 'Finally,' like—because I remember just feeling like, yeah, finally, like you win like the game.

"Like I always felt like this—like this thing that he couldn't touch and finally he felt like he could touch … He took my pants off. I'm pretty sure I was still wearing a shirt … And then he performed oral sex on me."

Kindred said there was "no physical or sexual interactions with the law clerk at any point during the night"

He eventually went back on this, saying oral sex did occur, but the pair still disagree about whether this was consensual.

In a nine-page response, Kindred said: "I was not the aggressor. I was not overbearing. I was honest with [the law clerk] as to the difficult place I was in. I wish that I would have been stronger and that I would have handled myself in a more respectable manner. This brief romantic interlude, while it should have been avoided, was not at all as [the law clerk] described."

When it came to Kindred's treatments of clerks in general, one instance saw him tell a clerk he had been sent a nude picture by an Assistant United States Attorney. He also encouraged rating people on their "f***ability" and told stories about oral sex in a hot tub.

Newsweek has contacted the Clerk of Court, via email, for any further comment from Kindred.

If Kindred is to be impeached, it has to be determined whether his actions amount to "high crimes and misdemeanors," for which there is no official definition, so Congress often looks to previous judicial impeachments.

The court order cites a 2009 impeachment report, which says: "From an historical perspective the question of what conduct by a Federal judge constitutes an impeachable offense has evolved to the position where the focus is now on public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.

"When a judge's conduct calls into questions his or her integrity or impartiality, Congress must consider whether impeachment and removal of the judge from office is necessary to protect the integrity of the judicial branch and uphold the public trust."