Republican judge impeached

Samuel Kent is a federal judge appointed by the elder Bush.

Last month, Kent was sentenced to almost 3 years in prison for lying to investigators about a case in which he had been indicted for abusive sexual contact and attempted aggravated sexual abuse. He was also the first federal judge in this fine land ever to be charged with federal sex crimes. As part of a plea bargain, he admitted the sexual conduct was not consensual.

Kent claimed he would retire, rather than resign. Retired judges get their full salary for the rest of their lives; resigned judges do not. However, Kent is 6 years short of the age at which he is allowed to retire.

He then claimed he was retiring under disability, but the government didn't buy that shit and forced him to resign instead of retire.

Now the U.S. House has voted to impeach Kent, while he serves his prison time. Lawmakers were furious at discovering that he was still drawing his full salary while behind bars, as his resignation doesn't take effect for another year.

This is the first impeachment of a federal judge since 1989. This is also the first impeachment of any federal official since President Clinton in 1998.

The next step is a trial by the Senate, which may remove Kent from his post immediately, instead of letting him wait a year for his resignation to become official.

Of course, Republicans have expressed sympathy for the disgraced judge.

(Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hArT3lWtid4tX91JhgH69Q5FotmgD98TUPA83)