His Organization Hosts CPAC
WASHINGTON — Matt Schlapp, one of the nation’s most prominent conservative leaders and a top ally of former President Donald Trump, is being accused of sexually groping a male aide on Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker’s campaign in October.
“He reached in between my legs and fondled me,” the former Walker staffer told NBC News in a telephone interview Thursday night. “To my shame, I didn’t say anything” to stop Schlapp. NBC News is withholding the staffer’s name at his request because he fears the allegations against a powerful Republican could harm his own career in GOP politics.
Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, is married to former Trump White House aide Mercedes Schlapp. His organization hosts the Conservative Political Action Conference, (CPAC) a crucial proving ground for Republican presidential hopefuls.
When the staffer got home that night, he received a call from Schlapp—shortly after midnight, according to call records the staffer shared with The Daily Beast—to confirm that the staffer would still chauffeur him to an event in Macon the next day. The staffer described the call as “short and perfunctory,” but after confirming he would drive him, the staffer “broke down.” He then recorded a series of tearful video accounts detailing the evening, which he shared with The Daily Beast as well as with two people close to him, including the staffer’s wife.
“Matt Schlapp of the CPAC grabbed my junk and pummeled it at length, and I’m sitting there thinking what the hell is going on, that this person is literally doing this to me,” the staffer said in the video.
“From the bar to the Hilton Garden Inn, he has his hands on me. And I feel so fucking dirty. I feel so fucking dirty,” he said.
“I’m supposed to pick this motherfucker up in the morning and just pretend like nothing happened. This is what I’m dealing with,” the staffer continued. “This is what I got to do.”
The aide got out of driving Schlapp that following morning.
“Pls give me a call,” Schlapp replied, followed by, “Thx.” Schlapp then called him three times over the next 20 minutes, according to phone records reviewed by The Daily Beast.
When the staffer did not answer or return the calls, Schlapp sent another text, asking him to look “in your heart” and call back.
“If you could see it in your heart to call me at the end of day. I would appreciate it,” Schlapp texted at 12:12 p.m. “If not I wish you luck on the campaign and hope you keep up the good work.”
