House impeaches federal judge

(CNN) - The House of Representatives voted Friday to impeach a federal judge convicted of obstruction of justice while in office.

U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent of Texas pleaded guilty in February, admitting he lied to investigators about nonconsensual sexual contact with two employees in his courthouse. As part of a plea agreement, other counts alleging sexual misconduct were dropped.

Kent was the first federal judge to be charged with sexual crimes while in office.

He has submitted his resignation, but made it effective June 1, 2010, meaning he would be paid for a year while in prison.

That drew a heated response among some members of Congress, and a House Judiciary Committee task force unanimously approved four articles of impeachment against Kent on the grounds of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and providing false statements to federal investigators.

The decision on whether to convict him will be made by the Senate. A conviction would mean he would lose both his seat on the federal bench and his pension.

Kent, who turns 60 this month, was sentenced in May to 33 months in prison, and began serving the sentence Monday. He was ordered to undergo treatment for alcoholism while in prison.