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District Court Judge Appointed By President Bill Clinton Resigns Following Sexual Harassment Allegations

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Marlo Safi Culture Reporter
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A U.S. District Court Judge appointed by former President Bill Clinton resigned following allegations that he had sexually harassed female court employees.

District Judge Carlos Murguia wrote in a resignation letter to President Trump, “I have been honored to serve in this position since 1999, and my tenure on the Court has been the highlight of my professional life. In recent months, it has become clear that I can no longer effectively serve the Court in this capacity.”

Murguia was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas in 1999 by President Clinton and confirmed that same year. He is the first Latino to serve as a federal judge in Kansas. (RELATED: REPORT: Bill Clinton Caught In Photos On Jeffrey Epstein’s Plane With ‘Sex Slave’)

He was publicly reprimanded by the Judicial Council of the Tenth Circuit for sexual harassment of employees, an extramarital affair and being habitually late for court in September 2019. Employees who were interviewed about his behavior said they were hesitant to confront Murguia because of his position as a federal judge, and when someone did ask him to stop, he ignored them, KSHB reported in October. 

The reprimand concluded that Murguia has “engaged in a years-long extramarital sexual relationship with a drug-using individual who was then on probation and is now incarcerated (because of probation violations) for state-court felony convictions,” KSHB reported

The Council also found that Murguia had given “preferential treatment and unwanted attention” to female court employees. He tendered his resignation “with a heavy heart and profound apologies, out of respect for the federal judiciary, my colleagues, my community and — most importantly — my family,” according to KSHB.

Murguia apologized for and admitted to all allegations of misconduct.

Murguia’s cases are being reassigned to other district court judges and he will be assisting with the transition until his resignation from the bench on April 1.