Defenders of congressional "faith and family" candidate Mark Lamb say allegations of sexual improprieties — sexting, sharing nude photos of his wife, encouraging intimate encounters and using threats to cover it up — are fake.
But one of Lamb's longtime friends says it is all true. He says Lamb introduced him to a sexually charged "lifestyle" that included sharing explicit photos and sexual encounters with Lamb's wife, Janel.
Matt Hilsabeck said he broke his silence on Lamb to put an end to claims circulating on some social media sites and in GOP circles that the allegations are untrue.
He told The Arizona Republic that he was involved with meet-ups for oral sex, photo swaps, group chats and secret message exchanges. Lamb encouraged the activity before and after he was elected Pinal County sheriff in 2016, Hilsabeck said.
People are also reading…
Lamb, who bills himself as "America's Sheriff," is now running for Congress in the conservative southeast Valley on a traditional family values platform. He has President Donald Trump's endorsement.
Neither he nor his wife responded to multiple requests for comment.
Jillian Stannard (center left) said former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and his wife, Janel, helped officiate the baptism of her soon-to-be husband, Matt Hilsabeck (left).
What did an Arizona Republic investigation into Mark Lamb find?
An ongoing investigation by The Republic found the sheriff invited intimate encounters and indulged a yearslong habit of sexting that he later denied or sought to conceal, sometimes with threats or intimidation.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints investigated allegations of sexual impropriety brought against Lamb by two women, The Republic found.
Lamb also made a racist joke about Black people being lazy when a border extremist messaged him the N-word, records show.
Rumors of Lamb's sexual proclivities have plagued him for years. In 2020, a political rival complained to the Pinal County Board of Supervisors that Lamb had targeted women and used his position to cover it up. The board took no action.
The Republic's investigation prompted a review by the Pinal County Attorney's Office. A June 10 report found Lamb benefited from "a different standard of review" over sexual misconduct and other allegations as sheriff.
At the height of campaign season in Arizona, Lamb bought a new $3 million home and ranch compound in Michie, Tennessee. He has released dozens of videos since April about moving his family 1,500 miles away from the district he is running to represent.
He has assured constituents that his primary residence would remain in San Tan Valley.
Who is Mark Lamb?
Lamb and Hilsabeck met at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Training Academy in 2006. Lamb was 34 years old and running a pest control company when he made the leap to law enforcement after a string of failed businesses, a bankruptcy and a home foreclosure.
They joined the Salt River Police Department in 2006. Lamb was a member of the SWAT team and a detective. He and Hilsabeck worked together in the gang unit. Lamb left the department in 2012 with no disciplinary history, records show.
Lamb went back into pest control with a plan to run for sheriff. Hilsabeck quit the Salt River Police Department about a year later and joined Lamb in the business. Records show Lamb became a Pinal County sheriff's deputy in 2012 and a reserve officer in 2013 as he built a campaign war chest.
He was elected sheriff in 2016 and reelected in 2020. Lamb ran for U.S. Senate in 2024 but lost in the Republican primary to Kari Lake.
What do Mark Lamb's supporters claim?
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, repeatedly called the reporting "lies" and falsely claimed on social media that Lamb's opponent had paid The Republic.
"The illicit photos do not even look like him," Bilderback wrote on social media. "Clearly photoshopped or a photo of someone else."
"Those who can’t win, try to smear," Casey Upshaw, a Queen Creek resident whose company loaned Lamb $2 million for the Tennessee ranch, said on Instagram.
"Fake!!!" a user with the handle Snore Master wrote on X.
What does Mark Lamb's former partner say?
Hilsabeck campaigned for Lamb in 2016 and after his "best friend" was elected went to work for him at the Sheriff's Office.
Hilsabeck said Lamb texted him a nude photo of his wife for his birthday in 2015. The message read, "Janel wanted to send you something to say happy birthday" or something similar, he said.
That led to liaisons with Janel for oral sex and a sexual group chat with Lamb and another woman where sexual messages and photos were exchanged, Hilsabeck said.
Hilsabeck is a proud Republican and distrusts the mainstream media. When reached by The Republic, he said he would not lie to protect Lamb, or himself. He called The Republic's reports about Lamb accurate. Sext messages and photos attributed to the former sheriff published by The Republic are as he remembered them, he said.
A little more than two years after Lamb's birthday message, Hilsabeck said his new wife found the sexual messages and photos on his phone and computer, critically damaging his marriage.
His wife, Jillian Stannard, was a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She trusted the Lambs as church authorities and friends.
Stannard said Lamb confronted her publicly after she asked the LDS Church to hold the sheriff and his wife accountable. He got in her face and told her there would be "collateral damage" if she kept talking, she said.
Hilsabeck confirmed witnessing the confrontation. He said he quit working for Lamb in an effort to save his marriage, which ended in divorce two years later.
Did another woman claim Mark Lamb threatened her?
Tammy Peacock for years claimed to be Lamb's lover. She said after she went public with her allegations online, Lamb threatened to sic the state police on her and charge her with revenge porn.
Peacock died in 2021. Lamb in local media interviews denied having an affair with her. In his 2021 memoir, he called her crazy and obsessed.
Hilsabeck said he was aware of Peacock. He said he had once gone to her house with Lamb, where the two met briefly. He assumed she was another one of the women Lamb flirted with online. He said the sheriff often sexted with women in ways similar to the group chat. Lamb had always told him it wouldn't go farther, he said.
"That was his line that he would not cross," Hilsabeck said. "Going from a texting-type relationship, flirting, to a physical encounter."
Hilsabeck said he was surprised by the photos and messages Peacock posted. He said he was able to confirm small details in some of the images Peacock claimed Lamb had sent, leading him to believe they were authentic.
"Maybe I didn't know him as well as I thought I did," Hilsabeck said.
What does Mark Lamb say?
Lamb has not denied any specific claims in The Republic's reporting. He has not responded to multiple requests for comment or addressed lists of allegations.
Lawyers for Lamb's campaign said in April that many of the claims against him are "baseless and harmful" but offered no specifics then or since.
In a May 28 Facebook post, Lamb's wife, Janel, said she and her husband were being subjected to a "massive smear campaign."
"Politics can be dark and ugly, but if you know us, you know that's not how we roll," she wrote. "The only way to dispel darkness is not with more darkness, only light."
Has there been any political fallout over the claims?
Lamb is widely considered the front-runner in the election to replace the seat long held by Republican Rep. Andy Biggs, a Trump loyalist who is now running for Arizona governor.
Fellow Republicans have rebuked Lamb's conduct as high-profile sex scandals in California, Texas and Maine have rocked Capitol Hill. Some have pressured him to drop out of the race.
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 has argued Lamb's scandals will hurt Republicans during this year's elections, which will decide control of Congress, Arizona's governorship, the state Legislature and other key political offices.
Lamb "only puts our Republican ticket at risk," Keenan said June 4 during a TV interview.
John Lewis, president and CEO of the business coalition Phoenix East Valley Leadership, said Lamb's silence has left voters wondering about the allegations as the July 21 primary approaches. Early voting begins June 24.
"A lot of the voters are looking to see if candidate Lamb has more information to share," Lewis said. "There's just a wait, right now, for more information."
