Congressman Adam Putnam today voted in support of impeaching a federal judge who has pleaded guilty to lying to judicial investigators, but who has refused to resign from his office.  Because federal judges receive lifetime appointments, the judge would be able to continue to receive an annual salary/pension of $174,000 unless he resigns or is formally removed from the bench.

The U.S. House voted to impeach Judge Samuel B. Kent of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas for having sexually assaulted two employees of the Office of the Clerk of the Court and lying to a panel of judicial investigators as well as lying to Department of Justice attorneys and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. With the House’s action the U.S. Senate can begin an impeachment trial.

“The integrity of our nation’s judiciary is a cornerstone of our system of democracy,” said Putnam.  “These crimes are shocking in and of themselves.  That they were committed by a member of the judiciary is truly stunning.  Judge Kent’s official removal from the bench cannot happen swiftly enough.”

Kent pled guilty and was sentenced to imprisonment for the felony of obstruction of justice in violation of section 1512(c)(2) of title 18, United States Code, on the basis of false statements made to the judicial investigatory committee.  The sentencing judge described Kent’s conduct as "a stain on the justice system itself." Kent entered the Devens Federal Medical Center in Massachusetts June 15 to begin serving a 33-month sentence. 

Since 2001, Putnam has represented Florida’s 12^th Congressional District, which includes most of Polk County and portions of Hillsborough and Osceola counties.