The Alaska U.S. Attorney’s Office is the subject of a Department of Justice investigation related to a federal judge’s sexual misconduct, Sen. Lisa Murkowski has revealed.
Former U.S. District Court Judge Joshua Kindred resigned in early July ahead of a report by the 9th Circuit’s Judicial Council that he had inappropriate relationships with two federal prosecutors, one of whom had previously been one of Kindred’s law clerks and another who sent him nude photos.
Kindred created a hostile work environment in his office by making sexual remarks to clerks and pursuing a sexual relationship with the former law clerk, including unwanted sexual contact and also lied to the Judicial Council about some of his behavior, the report said.
Kindred’s relationships with the federal prosecutors, who were involved in cases before him, have called his impartiality into question and resulted in the review of at least 40 cases.
The U.S. Judicial Conference has asked the U.S. House to consider impeaching Kindred, which would bar him from holding future office, but Republican congressional leadership have said impeachment is unlikely, given that Kindred has already resigned.
As reported by Bloomberg Law, the U.S. Attorney’s Office was prompt in informing the Judicial Council about the complaints against Kindred, but the former law clerk later alleged that she had been retaliated against for acting as a whistleblower.
The scandal has apparently triggered a review of how the U.S Attorney’s Office in Alaska handled the matter. Sen. Murkowski said in a Sept. 17 social media post that she was aware of an investigation by the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which Murkowski said she hoped would move quickly.
“We must send a message that there is zero tolerance for this reprehensible behavior in our judicial system or any workplace in this country,” Murkowski wrote.
Both the DOJ and the Alaska U.S. Attorney’s Office have declined to confirm the existence of such an investigation.
Meanwhile, Murkowski on Wednesday announced she had cosponsored legislation to ensure protections for federal judicial employees against sexual harassment, retaliation and other forms of workplace misconduct, including discrimination.
Casey Grove is host of Alaska News Nightly, a general assignment reporter and an editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach him atcgrove@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Caseyhere.
