Judge Forced to Resign After Secret Probe Found He Engaged in 'Inappropriate' Sexual Relationship With Law Clerk INSIDE His Chambers, Lied About It to Federal Investigators
U.S. District Judge Joshua M. Kindred was forced to resign from his lifetime appointment after an internal probe concluded that he created a hostile work environment, engaged in an "inappropriately sexualized relationship" with one of his law clerks, and then lied about it to federal investigators.
July 9 2024, Published 10:39 a.m. ET
A federal judge in Alaska has been forced to resign from his lifetime appointment after an internal probe concluded that he created a hostile work environment, engaged in an "inappropriately sexualized relationship" with one of his law clerks, and then lied about it to federal investigators, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The New York Times reports that U.S. District Judge Joshua M. Kindred, who was nominated by former president Donald Trump in 2019, was asked by the Judicial Council of the 9th Circuit to resign voluntarily over the allegations and submitted his official letter of resignation to President Joe Biden on July 3 without explanation.
According to a judicial report and 30-page court order released publicly on Monday, Kindred had "an unusually close relationship" with one of his clerks, exchanging 278 pages of text messages with her. After she left her clerkship and began a new job as an assistant U.S. attorney in October 2022, he took her out for drinks, brought her back to his chambers, and then "kissed her and grabbed her buttocks."
In another incident less than a week later, Kindred invited her to the apartment where he was staying and performed oral sex on her. "I just remember thinking like there's nothing I can do about this, like this is about to happen," she told investigators. Following the sexual encounters, he allegedly told her to "keep your head down and shut the f--- up."
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When questioned about his misconduct, Kindred deliberately "obstructed, influenced, and impeded" the investigation and repeatedly denied having any sexual contact with his law clerk. "Only when asked under oath during the Judicial Council meeting of April 5, 2024, did he admit that he had deliberately lied to the special committee," the report said.
The special committee also found that Kindred "appeared to have no filter as to the topics he would discuss with the clerks," discussing their sex lives, encouraging rating people based on "f---ability," and telling stories about "giving blow jobs in a hot tub." In the "few instances" where clerks confronted him about his inappropriate behavior, they were "belittled or ostracized," causing one clerk to leave.
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"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. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican who approved his nomination, wrote on X that Kindred's resignation was "more than appropriate ... Judges need to be held to the highest of standards."
In a nine-page written response to the special committee report, Kindred acknowledged that he "failed to exercise appropriate boundaries and crossed lines I should not have crossed" by "treating employees as friends and allowing my personal and professional struggles to become topics of conversation" but insisted that "those relationships did not develop due to any sinister or illicit intent."
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