Alaska’s U.S. Attorney under scrutiny in disgraced federal judge’s sex scandal

S. Lane Tucker, U.S Attorney for nan District of Alaska, speaks astatine a property convention successful Anchorage connected Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. (Wesley Early/Alaska Public Media)

The fallout from erstwhile U.S. District Court Judge Joshua Kindred’s inappropriate relationships pinch 2 national prosecutors continues to unfold.

Kindred resigned July 3. Days later, nan Judicial Council of nan Ninth Circuit released the results of its investigation into Kindred’s bad behavior, which included intersexual harassment, vulgar remarks and creating a dispute activity environment.

The investigation recovered that Kindred had unwanted intersexual interaction pinch a erstwhile rule clerk aft she went to activity arsenic a charismatic successful nan U.S. Attorney’s Office for Alaska and that different national charismatic had sent him nude photos. The erstwhile rule clerk has alleged that nan U.S. Attorney’s Office retaliated against her for reporting Kindred.

Bloomberg Law wrote Thursday that an impeachment inquiry, which would barroom Kindred from holding early agency if he’s convicted, has moved to nan U.S. House.

There are still galore questions swirling astir nan scandal, including nan precise number of criminal cases Kindred heard that might’ve progressive conflicts of liking pinch either of nan 2 prosecutors and really nan U.S. Attorney for Alaska, S. Lane Tucker, responded to nan first complaint.

And Bloomberg Law newsman Ben Penn says Tucker, who was overseeing nan prosecutors progressive successful nan scandal, was besides seeking a national judgeship for herself.

Listen:

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This question and reply has been lightly edited for magnitude and clarity.

Ben Penn: The erstwhile rule clerk who past became an adjunct U.S. Attorney for a little play of clip successful Anchorage, we’ve reviewed documents successful which she has alleged retaliation by nan U.S. attorney, nan U.S. Attorney’s different apical supervisors, saying that aft she had travel guardant pinch complaints astir being abused by Kindred that nan U.S. Attorney’s Office initially tried to diminution her petition to beryllium transferred to a different district, because she didn’t consciousness safe moving wrong nan aforesaid national building arsenic Kindred. And they did yet o.k. that transfer, but they initially tried to diminution it, and past yet denied her imperishable employment aft her 1 twelvemonth impermanent position expired.

Casey Grove: So astatine slightest a mates different charismatic bodies are looking into these allegations and investigating. You said pinch 2 erstwhile U.S. Attorneys for Alaska. What did they opportunity astir what they expect to spot travel retired of that?

BP: Yeah, and this isn’t conscionable those 2 erstwhile Democratic-appointed U.S. Attorneys. I said pinch galore different erstwhile rule enforcement officials, (Department of Justice) officials, morals attorneys and professors. Basically, cipher knows what nan result is going to be, but location is simply a reasonably broadly held anticipation that nan Justice Department is going to now behaviour an soul investigation, apt by nan Office of Professional Responsibility. There are different offices wrong DOJ, they could person a hook to analyse really nan Department of Justice, nan U.S. Attorney’s Office successful Alaska, responded to that first title earlier it was confirmed. And location is an presumption that astatine slightest nan U.S. Attorney Lane Tucker, who was appointed by President Biden, that she would beryllium 1 of nan subjects who who would get questioned arsenic portion of immoderate enquiry that nan Justice Department would take.

CG: Interesting, yeah, and I conjecture this is simply a bully constituent to conscionable inquire what benignant of consequence did you get from nan U.S. Attorney’s Office successful Alaska aliases from nan Department of Justice successful general?

BP: Yeah, everybody has clamped down connected communicating correct now. They’re doing each they’re talking conscionable done nan courts. I should constituent out, however, that according to my reporting, nan U.S. Attorney’s Office, including nan U.S. Attorney Lane Tucker, did promptly mention that first title to nan Ninth Circuit and to nan DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility, which examines lawyer misconduct, and they astatine slightest should consciousness assured that they performed that portion of their duty. There is simply a abstracted question, though, arsenic to whether they did their ain factfinding workout astatine nan U.S. Attorney’s Office to fig retired if location was immoderate veracity to nan elder charismatic having really sent nude photos to nan judge, conscionable because of what a superior allegation that is. That’s not nan type of point that, astatine slightest nan morals professors I said with, consciousness immoderate U.S. lawyer should consciousness comfortable hanging retired location arsenic a anticipation during nan pendency of a DOJ OPR investigation, which tin return galore months to complete, that location was a work to astatine slightest initiate an informal, you know, review.

CG: And arsenic portion of your communicative for Bloomberg Law, you had obtained immoderate documents from various different sources and moreover said to anonymous sources who were either existent aliases erstwhile staffers successful nan U.S. Attorney’s agency present successful Alaska. What did you study from those sources?

BP: Basically, I came distant pinch beautiful accordant accounts from galore existent and erstwhile labor that I said pinch astir nan U.S. Attorney having a detached activity style, often taking trips extracurricular of nan authorities of Alaska and not attending Criminal Division meetings, deferring decisions connected criminal prosecutions to a criminal main successful nan agency who had 4 years of acquisition arsenic a prosecutor. And that, you know, Lane Tucker is not somebody, she was beautiful open, according to my interviews pinch her unit erstwhile she arrived 2 years ago, astir nan truth that her inheritance was successful civilian not criminal law, and that arsenic a result, she delegated rather a spot of responsibility. I deliberation a batch of group felt that Lane Tucker was not coming arsenic overmuch arsenic they were accustomed to seeing her predecessors beryllium successful nan office. And that does overlap pinch nan play successful which, afterward, aft she had received nan first study astir Kindred’s behavior.

CG: And then, of course, there’s different wrinkle that comes up successful your story, that S. Lane Tucker, nan U.S. Attorney for Alaska, had expressed liking successful a judgeship that was unfastened erstwhile to Kindred resigning, right?

BP: That’s right, and successful fact, erstwhile Sen. (Lisa) Murkowski had asked for nan Alaska Bar Association to do a canvass of nan astir qualified applicants for that judgeship — this is nan spot that was opened successful precocious 2021 earlier a caller vacancy opened erstwhile Kindred resigned — and Lane Tucker came backmost arsenic 1 of nan apical 4 astir qualified applicants. And you know, there’s an unfastened mobility now arsenic to whether Murkowski had already submitted her sanction to nan White House for vetting for that judgeship. So, you know, we asked Murkowski, a mates weeks agone a workfellow of excavation asked her, if Tucker remains connected on her database of imaginable candidates, and she declined to say. So yes, we’re still waiting for that seat, for a information for that seat.

CG: I mean, I don’t want to get excessively acold retired complete my skis, arsenic they say, but is location immoderate logic to deliberation that Lane Tucker, nan U.S. Attorney for Alaska, had possibly kept things nether wraps pinch nan Kindred investigation, because that would look poorly arsenic she tried to go a national judge?

BP: That’s an allegation that nan erstwhile rule clerk to Kindred had included successful her retaliation title that is pending earlier nan Office of Special Counsel. That’s an independent agency that investigates national worker whistleblower complaints. That’s not thing that I’m successful a position to estimate on. In defense to Tucker, I will constituent retired keeping things nether wraps wouldn’t beryllium a accordant characterization pinch nan truth that, according to my reporting, she did quickly mention that title to nan Ninth Circuit, which did lead to Kindred’s resignation and nan findings that corroborated his abuse. And you know, nevertheless agelong it took, it did return a twelvemonth and a half earlier those findings went nationalist and he stepped down, but erstwhile she made that referral to nan Ninth Circuit, it was retired of her hands astatine that point. The timing was retired of her control.

CG: So Ben, I mean, you’re based successful Washington D.C., you activity for Bloomberg Law covering ineligible issues astir nan full country, and, you know, present we are talking astir this ungraded successful Alaska. Why is this specified a large deal, I guess, extracurricular of Alaska?

BP: Writing for a ineligible audience, it’s fascinating, anytime you person a judge who engaged successful improper relations pinch nan national prosecution agency that is adjoined to his chambers successful a territory for illustration Alaska, a smaller territory successful which Kindred was, astatine nan time, 1 of only 2 progressive judges who could perceive criminal cases that that U.S. Attorney’s Office was prosecuting. There were galore cases that they were prosecuting correct successful beforehand of him. At a minimum, it’s very adjacent to opportunity that nan U.S. Attorney’s Office is dealing pinch a existent administrative conundrum here, and that each nan activity that their prosecutors, that their support staff, are now forced to do, to review, to spell backmost into past cases and reappraisal whether they had an responsibility to place a conflict that could person led to Kindred’s recusal but didn’t, that’s conscionable much time, much power that they’re spending that could person been spent on, you know, uncovering caller crime, connected investigating narcotics traffickers. That’s each a awesome distraction for nan office, and this is thing that we are going to beryllium continuing to track.