Arizona Republican Mark Lamb wants primary opponent to stop accusing him of perjury

Arizona congressional candidate Mark Lamb is trying to get his Republican primary opponent to stop accusing him of committing perjury.

However, Daniel Keenan is not backing down from his campaign trail rhetoric after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Lamb’s attorney.

“Mark Lamb committed perjury when he filed a sworn statement with the state government claiming he had not filed for bankruptcy, even though he had. … The sworn document Lamb filed with the state and his history of filing for bankruptcy are both public records,” Joseph Raetzer, Keenan’s campaign manager, said in a statement Tuesday.

Keenan and Lamb are vying for the Republican nomination in Arizona’s 5th Congressional District, a GOP stronghold. The primary winner will be favored to win the seat currently held by Rep. Andy Biggs, who is running for governor.

Lamb is considered the front-runner on the strength of his name recognition as former sheriff of Pinal County and an endorsement from President Donald Trump. This is Lamb’s second run for Congress. He finished second to Kari Lake in the 2024 Republican primary for the Senate seat that Democrat Ruben Gallego won.

Keenan is the founder of a homebuilding company called DK Builders. He grew up in the East Valley district he wants to represent in Congress and is raising a family there.

He aims to maintain Biggs’ record as an ally to Trump, according to his campaign website.

Mark Lamb’s attorney threatens legal action over perjury claims

Lamb’s attorney, former Arizona Supreme Court Justice Andrew Gould, sent Keenan a cease-and-desist letter last Friday, demanding full compliance within five days. Gould is now a partner at Holtzman Vogel’s Phoenix office.

Raetzer issued the Keenan campaign’s defiant response Tuesday. Gould then sent similar cease-and-desist letters Wednesday to Raetzer and Matt Braynard, an adviser to Keenan.

According to the letters, which Keenan’s campaign provided to KTAR News 92.3 FM, Keenan’s team has been distributing material that says, “Mark Lamb filed for bankruptcy and then committed perjury when he signed a legal disclosure claiming that he never had.”

Keenan also allegedly made the claim during a May 7 event hosted by United Patriots AZ in Gilbert.

The accusations against Lamb are related to a disclosure form filed when he started a nonprofit called the American Sheriff Foundation in 2018.

According to the Arizona Luminaria, the “no” box was checked for a question about whether Lamb or a fellow incorporator had ever filed for bankruptcy.

Lamb has acknowledged filing for bankruptcy in Utah in 2003, according to ABC15.

Lamb told the Arizona Luminaria the “no” answer to the bankruptcy question was a mistake made with “no malicious intent.”

Gould’s cease-and-desist letters threatened legal action if Keenan’s campaign doesn’t stop saying Lamb committed perjury, calling the term “false, misleading and potentially defamatory.”

“Your defamatory statements, repeated by your campaign through printed advertisements, are false statements of fact, not opinion, and are actionable under Arizona law. You are now on notice that any continued publication or republication of statements falsely asserting that Mark Lamb has committed perjury will be met with an immediate and vigorous legal response,” the letters say.

Furthermore, the letters call on Keenan and his staff to publicly retract the perjury allegation and preserve all documentation related to it.

Daniel Keenan’s campaign manager says Mark Lamb should ‘come clean’

Raetzer questioned Gould’s legal strategy by invoking a U.S. Supreme Court justice who has become a regular target of Republican criticism.

“Lamb filed bankruptcy in Utah and later signed a sworn disclosure form contradicting this fact. Their argument is that because he wasn’t charged and convicted of perjury, we are somehow liable for defaming, which is such a bizarre argument that we have to ask if Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is on his legal team,” Raetzer said in his statement.

Keenan’s campaign manager also questioned why Lamb wasn’t prosecuted and took a shot at the former sheriff’s recent purchase of a ranch in rural Michie, Tennessee.

The 140-acre Lamb Ranch is a family operation that includes raising cattle, hosting events and renting cabins, according to its website.

“We invite Mark Lamb to come clean and explain why he didn’t get sent to prison despite committing such an obvious crime, but we’ve heard he’s too busy putting down roots in Tennessee, where he’s building his new home,” Raetzer said.

Early voting for Arizona’s July 21 primary elections begins June 24.

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