Constitutional Law

Federal Judge Samuel Kent Resigns, as Senate Impeachment Trial Looms

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After the Senate began gearing up yesterday for a historic impeachment trial of an imprisoned U.S. District Court judge, he had apparently already decided to throw in the towel.

In a letter that he hand-delivered yesterday to two Senate officials who had come to serve him with a subpoena in prison, Judge Samuel Kent resigned from office, reports the Houston Chronicle.

His resignation was announced today in Washington, D.C., at the organizational meeting of a bipartisan Senate committee that was appointed to prosecute the case against Kent.

Kent pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice earlier this year, in a case concerning his testimony about his since-admitted nonconsensual sexual contact with two federal court employees in Texas. He is serving a 33-month sentence at a prison medical facility in the Northeast.

If accepted by President Barack Obama, his resignation will be effective June 30.

Additional coverage:

ABAJournal.com: “US Senate Gears Up for Judge Kent’s Impeachment Trial”

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