Trump Ally Matt Schlapp Agrees To Pay $480,000 To Settle A Sexual Assault Lawsuit By Male Staffer

Matt Schlapp, the American Conservative Union (ACU) and Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) chairman, agreed to pay campaign staffer Carlton Huffman $480,000 to settle a sexual assault lawsuit.

Schlapp and his organization are long-time backers of former President Donald Trump.

In late 2022, Huffman, a staffer working for Herschel Walker‘s Senate campaign, anonymously accused Schlapp of making “sustained and unwanted and unsolicited” sexual contact with him.

The video was recorded on the night of the incident itself.

Walker’s campaign staffer stated that the incident happened on the night of October 19, 2022, when he “groped” his crotch in his car after buying him drinks.

Schlapp’s lawyer, Charlie Spies, said that the accusations were an “attack” and that Schlapp denied committing “any improper behavior.”

The Walker’s campaign confirmed that Huffman had shared the details of the incident with his supervisors.

On October 19, 2022, Schlapp was at Walker’s campaign event in Perry, Georgia. Huffman was assigned to drive the ACU chairman. Schlapp invited him for drinks. Huffman said the CPAC chairman started invading his “personal space.”

As Huffman drove Schlapp back to his hotel, the CPAC chairman began fondling his leg. This continued until Schlapp grabbed his “junk and pummeled it at length.”

The staffer also mentioned that he was just “sitting there thinking what the h— is going on, that [Schlapp] is literally doing this to” him.

When they arrived at the hotel, Schlapp invited the staffer to his room but he refused. The staffer then started recording videos, recalling what had happened.

He also reached out to the senior campaign staff the next morning, and they told him what to say when Schlapp texted the following morning saying he was ready to be chauffeured.

Huffman further accused Schlapp’s wife, Mercedes Schlapp, of inviting him up to his hotel room.

The staffer’s lawyers, in the original suit, stated that the CPAC leader “placed his hand” on his leg and “began aggressively fondling [his] genital area in a sustained fashion.”

“The claims made in my lawsuits were the result of a complete misunderstanding, and I regret that the lawsuit caused pain to the Schlapp family,” Huffman stated after the settlement was reached.

“The Schlapps have advised that the statements made about me were the result of a misunderstanding, which was regrettable,” he added about the comments the couple made about him after he filed his suit. “Neither the Schlapps nor the ACU paid me anything to dismiss my claims against them.”

CNN reported that Huffman was, in fact, the recipient $480,000 payout.

The statement denied this seems to hinge on the wording. It dismisses that “the Schlapps nor the ACU paid” him, but leaves space for a cash settlement which was paid by a legal insurance firm.

Schlapp earlier said that Huffman was accused of sexual assault in a separate case.

“Our family was attacked, especially by a left-wing media that is focused on the destruction of conservatives regardless of the truth and the facts,” Schlapp declared on March 26. “But we emerge from this ordeal stronger as husband and wife, stronger as parents to our five daughters, stronger as friends to those who stood by us.”

In 2022, Schlapp reportedly hired a Catholic priest to perform an exorcism at CPAC’s offices.

The CPAC chief’s idea was inspired by the resignation of staffers who had been disappointed with their pay. One by one, the hired priest “sprinkled holy water around the CPAC premises and blessed all the staff, regardless of their faith.”

He also put “a medallion above doors in the offices,” that way he could “ward off evil spirits.” The medallions were reported to still be present in CPAC’s offices.

After the report on the exorcism, Schlapp and Mercedes accused The Daily News of conspiring with the devil.