Just a few years after questions were raised about the professional background of a frequent associate of several Arizona lawmakers, a former legislator says he is “utterly dismayed” to hear Lyle Rapacki has the ear of some current legislators and supposedly even the Trump legal team.
“He talks a good talk and presents himself as a big player,” the former legislator said, adding that Rapacki often prefaces comments with “according to my intel people” and comes off as being in the know. “He is a guy who really wants to promote himself as an authority, but it could prove disastrous if legislative decisions are made based on his advice. It is frightening.”
Rapacki co-owns Sentinel Intelligence Services, PLLC and has described himself as a “private-sector intelligence and threat assessment specialist” who has briefed and consulted with members of the Arizona Legislature since 2010. He is also listed as the Director of Governmental and Political Affairs for the Prescott eNews operated by Specialized Publishing, Inc., which is wholly owned by former state Rep. David Stringer.
But Rapacki’s recent public access to Senate Majority Whip Sonny Borrelli (R-LD5) and Rep. Mark Finchem (R-LD11) has come under scrutiny after identifying himself as the coordinator of the Nov. 30 joint public legislative event at a Phoenix hotel attended by Trump campaign legal advisor Rudy Giuliani. He also claims to have recently “worked with the Giuliani team and the White House and other assorted teams” in connection to election fraud issues.
In a video posted Jan. 5, Rapacki said he was “fortunate and privileged to be working with the Giuliani team the last six weeks,” providing “consultations and related matters.” He also said he attended a 90-minute White House briefing days before the Jan. 6 Joint Session of Congress during which President Donald Trump expressed “very blunt” comments to the attendees.
Further, Rapacki commented in the same video to having intel that China and “other nations” were involved in compromising the 2020 General Election, evidence of which would be made public during future Congressional testimony.
Then in mid-January, Rapacki posted a video of his interview with Borrelli, the Senate Whip, in an Arizona Today podcast for Prescott eNews. During the podcast, Rapacki noted his efforts have been supported by Borelli, who he has known “for close to 10 years.”
Rapacki also said he “was privileged to present some information” leading up to State Senate subpoenas being issued to Maricopa County in connection to an election audit. However, his comments do not make it clear to whom he presented the information or what the nature of the information was.
In 2017, Rapacki came under fire after questions were raised in an Arizona Daily Independent article about his claimed connections to the intelligence community. The article pointed out Rapacki had lost his access to the state Capitol, a statement Rapacki did not challenge.
Last year, the Phoenix New Times reported Rapacki represented himself in a 2019 email to a University of Arizona lobbyist as the “Legislative Director” of the Arizona Association of Threat Assessment Professionals and had a close working relationship with Finchem on legislative matters.
Rapacki, who often refers to himself as Dr. Rapacki, has a Doctorate earned in 1998 for the treatment of psychological disorders via alternative medicine from the non-accredited Clayton College of Natural Medicine in Alabama. The college, which was defunct by 2010, has been decried as a diploma mill and purportedly did not offer its students clinical training in their subject matter.
The questions circulating around Rapacki are similar to the concerns being raised about the relationship between lawmakers from Arizona and Stop the Steal organizer Ali Alexander, who federal officials are seeking in connection to his admitted planning of “The Wild Rally,” one of several planned Jan. 6 rallies prior to the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Alexander has publicly claimed to have “schemed up” something with three Congressmen, including Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, in an effort to reject the Electoral College votes of several states. However, questions about Alexander’s background and conduct have come under scrutiny.