Soon after he was sworn in, U.S. Attorney Duane “Dak” Kees started an improper relationship with a subordinate, documents released by the Justice Department show. Just three years after he stepped down from that job amid an investigation, Kees has landed another government position: a seat on a state commission overseeing the ethics of Arkansas judges, from the state Supreme Court down to local magistrates.
A new Justice Department report released Tuesday sheds light on Kees’s behavior as the top federal prosecutor serving the Western District of Arkansas. At the time, Kees worried that the revelation of his relationship “could cost him his position as U.S. Attorney.” He even tried to block the firing of another employee who had committed “additional acts of misconduct” to keep his own misconduct out of the spotlight.
In a statement to The Intercept after the publication of this article, a spokesperson said Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin “was not aware of the allegations against Mr. Kees when he appointed him to the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission” in 2023.
“Attorney General Griffin is still reviewing the allegations in the........