On Thursday, August 1, 2024, Bloomberg Law reported that a former judicial law clerk filed a whistleblower complaint alleging retaliation by the US Attorney’s Office in Alaska.
According to the report, the woman first came forward in Fall 2022 with claims of sexual misconduct against US District Judge Joshua Kindred, for whom she had previously clerked. She disclosed to her supervisors at the US Attorney’s Office that Kindred had acted inappropriately towards her.
However, the woman claims she was denied a permanent position as a federal prosecutor in apparent retaliation for making these claims. In late September 2023, she received an email informing her that her initial one-year term of employment would not be extended and that it was her last day, despite having recently moved back to Alaska and setting up her life there.
Devastated by the news, the former law clerk filed a complaint with the US Office of Special Counsel (OSC) in February 2024, alleging she had been ousted from her dream job and home due to her decision to report Kindred’s misconduct. If the allegations are true, it would suggest ongoing and possibly wider scrutiny is needed of how the Justice Department handled this situation.
In addition to reporting Kindred’s actions to her supervisors in the US Attorney’s Office, the woman also disclosed to the office’s second-highest-ranking prosecutor, Kathryn Vogel, that Judge Kindred had discussed receiving naked photos from a senior attorney in their office, Karen Vandergaw, in Fall 2022. However, according to the complaint, the whistleblower believes her honesty was subsequently used against her in the decision to not extend her term of employment.
Beyond the initial denial of a permanent role, the woman further claims she received mixed messages about being able to take a temporary assignment outside Alaska to avoid contact with Kindred. After first denying such a request, management approved a seven-month detail in Washington, D.C., though supervisors now deny ever rejecting the detail initially.
Overall, the complaint alleges a pattern of retaliation for the woman’s bravery in exposing wrongdoing, not just by Kindred but also apparent misconduct within the Alaska US Attorney’s Office itself regarding the Judge. The OSC will now investigate these serious charges, which if substantiated, could lead to reprimands or corrective actions.
Source: Bloomberg Law
