By Nate Raymond
(Reuters) -The federal judiciary's top policymaking body has made a referral to the U.S. House of Representatives for lawmakers to consider potentially impeaching a now-former federal judge in Alaska who resigned after being accused of sexual misconduct.
A spokesperson for Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday said he had received a letter containing a notification from the U.S. Judicial Conference of possible grounds for former U.S. District Judge Joshua Kindred's impeachment.
The referral was a rarity for the Judicial Conference, which U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts heads. It last made such a referral in 2015. Only 15 judges have ever been impeached, and only eight have been convicted by the Senate.
It was unclear what the House would do with the referral. While Kindred is no longer in office, he could be barred from holding any federal office in the future if he was impeached in the Republican-controlled House and convicted in the Democratic-led Senate.
Kindred could not be reached for comment.
Kindred, who was appointed to the bench by Republican former President Donald Trump in 2020, resigned in July after a judicial misconduct inquiry found he fostered an inappropriate sexualized relationship with one of his law clerks and created a hostile work environment for court employees.
The 9th Circuit Judicial Council's inquiry found that he went on to have two sexual encounters with the clerk in October 2022 after she took a new job in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Alaska, which he later lied about.
The inquiry found that Kindred also used crude language with his law clerks and discussed with them his sex life, their relationships and his "disparaging" views of colleagues and public figures.
The judicial council reprimanded Kindred and asked for his voluntary resignation. The council had also certified the matter for the Judicial Conference to consider referring Kindred for potential impeachment.
The Judicial Conference's Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability last month upheld the decision.
Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee's courts subcommittee, in a statement said he was glad the Judicial Conference took the allegations seriously and made the impeachment referral.
"The behavior exhibited by former Judge Kindred is despicable and unbecoming of any federal judge," he said.