US Judge’s ‘Reprehensible Conduct’ Cited in Letter to House (1)

Findings that former US District Judge Joshua Kindred behaved inappropriately with his law clerks and then lied about it pushed the judiciary to recommend the House consider impeaching him, a top courts’ official said in a letter to lawmakers.

Robert Conrad, director of the US courts’ administrative arm, said in the letter that the judiciary’s policymaking body determined that impeachment of Kindred, a Donald Trump appointee who’s resigned from the District of Alaska, “may be warranted.”

The letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), dated Sept. 12 and made public on Friday cited three grounds for potential impeachment. It’s unclear whether the GOP-controlled House will take up the matter.

The letter pointed to Kindred’s “reprehensible conduct, which has no doubt brought disrepute to the judiciary” in citing three findings by the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council on Kindred’s misconduct.

Kindred resigned from his lifetime appointment in July shortly before the Ninth Circuit’s misconduct findings were published. If impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate, Kindred would be barred from holding public office in the future.

The council said in July that Kindred created a hostile work environment for his law clerks, had an “inappropriately sexualized” relationship with a former clerk after her clerkship ended while she was a prosecutor, and made “false and misleading statements” to those investigating the misconduct.

“These false statements, in combination with” his conduct toward his clerks, “contributed to the overall determination that Judge Kindred’s conduct may constitute grounds for impeachment,” the letter said.

While Kindred’s resignation may have rendered impeachment unnecessary “in a case with less egregious conduct,” Conrad wrote that referral of the impeachment matter is “appropriate” given the “severity” of the misconduct.

If the House chooses not to initiate impeachment proceedings, the document “may also serve as public censure” of Kindred’s conduct, the letter said.

Fifteen federal judges have been impeached since 1804, according to the Federal Judicial Center.

In addition to misconduct with his clerks, the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council also found Kindred engaged in inappropriate relationships with two lawyers who appeared before him, including a senior prosecutor at the Alaska US Attorney’s office.

The scandal has prompted Alaska lawyers to review Kindred’s past cases for potential conflicts of interest. The US Attorney’s office has identified more than 40 cases where there may have been conflicts.

The Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility has also opened an investigation related to the US Attorney’s office.

Kindred hasn’t publicly commented on the findings.