Trump-appointed judge resigns after over sexual misconduct allegations
U.S. District Judge Joshua M. Kindred in Alaska stepped down after a federal judicial council asked him to resign voluntarily following an investigation into misconduct allegations.
A federal judge in Alaska resigned Monday after an investigation found that he had an inappropriate relationship with a law clerk and then lied about it, in addition to creating a hostile work environment that included graphic sexual remarks to colleagues.
The Judicial Council of the 9th Circuit asked U.S. District Judge Joshua M. Kindred, who was nominated by former President Donald Trump, to resign voluntarily over misconduct allegations that it said involved engaging in an "inappropriately sexualized relationship" with a law clerk that continued briefly into her time as an assistant U.S. attorney in Alaska.
The allegations described in a 30-page court order from May, publicly released Monday, were first detailed in a lengthy report by a special committee that Chief Circuit Judge Mary H. Murguia appointed early last year to probe Kindred’s conduct after allegations dating to 2022 were made.
“We conclude that Judge Kindred’s misconduct was pervasive and abusive, constituted sexual harassment, and fostered a hostile work environment that took a personal and professional toll on multiple clerks,” the council wrote.
Joshua M. Kindred during a judicial nomination hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington on Dec. 4, 2019.Senate Judiciary Committee via Reuters fileKindred submitted his resignation letter to President Joe Biden last week, saying he would step down Monday.The court order cited an incident in October 2022 in which Kindred is alleged to have kissed a former law clerk and grabbed her rear after he asked her to get drinks with him shortly after she left her clerkship and began work at the U.S. attorney's office.
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