Limited Pinal County probe doesn't address key claims against Mark Lamb

A "preliminary inquiry" released June 22 did not mention the allegations of threats, intimidation, sexting, nude photo-sharing and racist messages that have overshadowed the former Pinal County sheriff's bid for Congress.

Two women who said Lamb used threats and intimidation to stop them from talking about sexually charged messages and photos confirmed the County Attorney's Office never contacted them as part of its investigation.

And the former Pinal County attorney who said Lamb asked him to "explore" criminal harassment charges against two women while he was sheriff also said nobody from the County Attorney's Office talked to him.

But on June 22, Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller announced that a "preliminary inquiry finds no abuse of power or criminal violations" related to Lamb and declared "this matter is now closed."

"I feel it wasn't an honest and full investigation," said Jillian Stannard, who said Lamb threatened her publicly in 2018 after she reported his conduct to LDS Church leaders in an effort to have him censured. "How did they come to this conclusion? Who did they ask or interview?"

Stephanie Wright, a friend of Stannard's who said Lamb confronted her after she alerted church leaders to dozens of nude photos and messages, questioned the purpose of the investigation.

"It looks to me like the Pinal County Attorney's Office appears to be covering things up," she said. "My interaction with Mark Lamb was not as direct as some of the allegations involving others, but I did find the encounter intimidating."

A Pinal County Attorney's Office spokesperson did not respond to questions about the witness interviews or findings made in the report.

"The PCAO has no further comment," Christy Kelly wrote.

Miller's internal review was prompted by an ongoing Arizona Republic investigation, which found Lamb invited intimate encounters and indulged a yearslong habit of sexting that he later denied or sought to conceal, sometimes with threats or intimidation. He also made a racist joke about Black people being lazy when a border extremist messaged him the N-word, records show.

Lamb's longtime friend Matt Hilsabeck told The Republic that Lamb in 2015 sent a nude picture of his wife as a birthday greeting. He said Lamb introduced him to a sexually charged "lifestyle" that included oral sex with Lamb's wife, Janel. Hilsabeck said Lamb also encouraged sharing explicit photos and messages in a group chat.

Lamb, who was sheriff from 2017 through 2024, is vying for the congressional seat formerly held by Andy Biggs in the conservative southeast Valley. Lamb is running on a traditional family values platform and has President Donald Trump's endorsement. One of Lamb's slogans is "faith, family, freedom."

Miller is also tied to allegations of Lamb's sexual behavior. A former government employee filed a notice of claim against Miller in January and accused him of spreading rumors that Lamb was a "swinger" who sent nude "pics" to women.

The county attorney has denied the accusations.

Miller's closure of the inquiry into Lamb was released two days before early voting begins in Arizona.

Although Miller said the investigation centered on "allegations of criminal behavior by Mark Lamb," the report does not detail any specific criminal allegations or accusations made against him. The finding that Lamb did not engage in "abuse of power" is not attached to any Arizona statute.

Lamb has not responded to repeated interview requests from The Arizona Republic.

His campaign in April called many of the claims against him "baseless and harmful" but offered no specifics — and neither Lamb nor his campaign has denied claims in The Republic's reporting since.

Mark Lamb's supporters celebrate findings

Lamb's allies celebrated Miller's report as proof the former sheriff did nothing wrong.

The right-wing pundit Rachel Alexander called Miller "the ONLY conservative prosecutor left in Arizona."

"Lamb was accused of sexual improprieties in his past — just like Trump," Alexander wrote. "Miller has completely cleared Lamb of any wrongdoing."

Ed Morabito, Lamb's spokesperson, forwarded The Republic a copy of the report when it was released. He did not respond to a June 23 request for comment on the sexting allegations.

In a June 20 interview with a right-wing talk show host, Lamb called the claims "lies" and accused his Republican primary opponent of being a Democratic plant. It was Lamb's most pointed comment so far.

"They never talk about the job that I did. They only talk about personal things, personal lies and attacks," Lamb said.

Lamb did not address the sexts, photos and screenshots or allegations of threats.

He floated a conspiracy theory during the show to explain the allegations against him.

Lamb leaned into a suggestion by host Joseph Pagliarulo that the attacks were "a Democrat operation."

"Absolutely," Lamb replied. "We're hearing from a lot of people that the opponent I have is probably a Democrat plant."

Pagliarulo asked Lamb whether he was worried people "will buy the narrative that they're trying to hang around your neck."

"Well, sure," Lamb said. "Republicans, we don't believe the fake media. But all of a sudden, if you write something about somebody who's high profile, there's going to be a certain percentage of people."

Lamb's supporters baselessly have claimed the women accusing the former Pinal County sheriff of using threats and intimidation to silence them are liars; that hundreds of sexually charged text messages are fabricated; and that explicit photos were digitally altered.

Robert Bilderback, director of field operations and a paid strategist for the Lamb campaign, was among those saying photos of Lamb were photoshopped. He repeatedly called the reporting "lies" and falsely claimed on social media that Lamb's opponent had paid The Republic.

Former County Attorney Kent Volkmer says investigators didn't contact him

Earlier in his investigation, Miller appeared to criticize the way sexual misconduct and other allegations were handled while Lamb was serving as Pinal County sheriff.

"Public officials are not entitled to a different standard of review because they are politically connected, personally popular, or institutionally protected," his spokesperson, Kelly, said in a June 5 statement. "Allegations involving elected leadership demand greater scrutiny — not less."

Miller appeared to single out former Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkmer, repeatedly suggesting the former prosecutor had failed to follow best practices.

Miller said there was no way to verify Volkmer's claim to The Republic that Lamb had sought to have two women investigated.

"No investigation was found, and not a single investigator at the Pinal County Attorney’s Office, including the former Chief of Investigations, could recall that such an investigation had ever been conducted," Miller said in a June 22 statement.

Volkmer said nobody from Miller's office bothered to ask him about it — or the women at the center of the claims.

“He can say what he wants,” Volkmer said on June 23. "He’s never reached out to me. He never called me. He’s never asked me."

The two women — Stannard and Tammy Peacock — accused Lamb of threatening them to stop them from posting and talking about nude pictures and explicit messages they said he sent. Peacock said Lamb threatened in a text exchange to have state police go after her.

Stannard said Lamb got in her face and told her there would be consequences for reporting his conduct to LDS Church leaders.

Peacock claimed she had an intimate relationship with the sheriff before and after he was elected in 2016. Stannard said she found evidence in 2018 that Lamb had encouraged her husband to have sex with other women, including Lamb's wife. Both women documented their claims with screenshots of photos and message exchanges that appeared to come from Lamb's phone and social accounts.

Lamb for years denied ever being alone with Peacock, who died in 2021. Lamb in local media interviews repeatedly denied the allegations of an affair. In his 2021 memoir, he called her crazy and obsessed.

Volkmer, who was Miller's predecessor and currently serves as a pro tem judge, said his office conducted a cursory investigation after Lamb made his request to explore revenge porn or criminal harassment charges against the women.

Volkmer said he never claimed his office generated any reports on Lamb's request. Just the opposite. He said he saw Lamb as a "victim" under the law. He told the sheriff that if he wanted to pursue a formal complaint, he would refer the case to an outside agency for investigation. Lamb declined, Volkmer said.

Miller concluded there was no evidence that Lamb was a crime victim or that Lamb had asked Volkmer to investigate a crime on his behalf.

Miller in his June 22 report appeared to abandon any suggestion that Lamb benefited from his position as sheriff. He said "public officials are entitled to the same due process and the same scrutiny as every other citizen."

Miller: No evidence 'Lamb acted in a criminal manner'

No one interviewed by The Republic accused Lamb of committing a crime.

Miller said his review determined Lamb committed no acts that would be considered criminal under Arizona law. He also said there was no evidence "Lamb acted in a criminal manner."

Miller based his conclusions on two "materials" his office reviewed: a packet submitted to the Pinal County Board of Supervisors in 2020 by one of Lamb's campaign rivals, and materials from an unnamed "victim who came forward and provided over 3 gigabytes" of information.

The packet is a grab-bag of screenshots that focuses primarily on sexting exchanges between Lamb and Peacock and a number of other women. It also includes Stannard's claims that Lamb tried to intimidate her to keep his actions from public view.

Stannard said Miller's team never reached out to her or her ex-husband, Matt Hilsabeck, who could have verified the allegations of sexts, photos and threats.

Hilsabeck told The Republic he broke his silence about Lamb to end claims circulating on some social media sites and in GOP circles that the allegations are untrue. He said he witnessed Lamb's actions, including his interactions with Peacock.

Pinal County resident Staci Burk told The Republic she provided the 3 gigabytes of information after responding to Miller's public call for help with the investigation.

"At no time did I say I was a victim of Lamb's sexual misconduct," Burk said.

The data she turned over to Miller amounted to a couple of dozen pictures, a few text messages, two videos and more than 10 audio recordings. Some were of Lamb and some were of Peacock, she said.

She said Lamb communicated with her as sheriff and often tried to convince her that Peacock and other women were "crazy."

"I do think it is legitimate that Lamb and others in his orbit had targeted vulnerable women," Burk said.

Primary challenger Keenan says Lamb is hiding from allegations

Many Republicans have called on Lamb to step down, saying the allegations against him are disqualifying.

Lamb's GOP opponent, Daniel Keenan, has spent more than six figures amplifying the allegations in advertisements on television, social media, text messages and in mailers.

He scoffed at Lamb's claim that he is a Democratic operative.

"Every day of this campaign, I’ve been on the front lines defending President Trump’s policies and forging solutions to the local issues that matter most to the people of this congressional district," he said.

Keenan said his platform aligns him squarely with Donald Trump. His political adviser is Matt Braynard, a right-wing operative known for organizing rallies across the country supporting people who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"I have been a committed Republican my entire life," Keenan said. "I serve as a precinct committeeman in Maricopa County, I’ve knocked doors for Turning Point as a volunteer and I’ve donated to Andy Biggs, the House Freedom Fund and other Republican and conservative causes."

At the same time he's campaigned around the East Valley district, Keenan said Lamb has retreated to his new $3 million ranch and family compound in Tennessee. Keenan called it "hiding out."

Lamb has spent a lot of time campaigning for the Arizona congressional seat from Tennessee. He bought the two properties months after launching his campaign and has released dozens of videos since April about moving his family 1,500 miles away from the district he is running to represent. Lamb said his primary residence will remain in San Tan Valley.

Lamb told Pagliarulo on the podcast that polling numbers show he is still ahead by a wide margin.

"The majority of the people know these are lies. They have seen the body of my work. Like the Scriptures say, 'By their fruits ye shall know them,'" Lamb said. "The fact that the paper is attacking me should tell every Republican I'm exactly who they want in Congress."