Matt Schlapp, the darling of CPAC, and a top Republican conservative political operative, along with his wife Mercedes Schlapp, a one-time Donald Trump aide, are being sued by a former Herschel Walker campaign staffer over allegations that he sexually assaulted him while on the campaign.
A lawyer for Schlapp acknowledged the lawsuit in a statement on Tuesday and said he was considering “counter-lawsuit options” following a newly filed legal complaint. The suit was filed on Tuesday in Virginia circuit court for the city of Alexandria.
The lawsuit follows claims earlier this month by the former Herschel Walker campaign staffer, who said Schlapp sexually assaulted him in Georgia in October while Schlapp was visiting the state to stump for the Republican Senate candidate. The male staffer said Schlapp, without consent, “groped” and “fondled” his groin while the staffer was driving Schlapp back to his hotel Oct. 19. POLITICO confirmed the existence of the allegations, which were first reported on Jan. 6 by the Daily Beast.
The staffer not only informed the (Walker) campaign of the alleged incident shortly after it happened but also recorded videos in its aftermath in which he described Schlapp’s actions.
“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. “From the bar to the Hilton Garden Inn, he has his hands on me. And I feel so f*cking dirty. I feel so f*cking dirty.”
The lawsuit also accuses Mr. Schlapp and his wife, Mercedes Schlapp, who served as Mr. Trump’s White House director of strategic communications, of defamation and conspiracy, claiming that they coordinated a campaign to discredit the Walker aide and his allegations.
Timothy Hyland, a lawyer for the accuser, said in a statement that the lawsuit, which asks for at least $9.4 million in damages, had been filed in part because Mr. Schlapp had not apologized for “his despicable actions.”
“Because Mr. Schlapp has refused to own up to his misbehavior,” Mr. Hyland said in a statement, “this suit aims to make Mr. Schlapp, and those who lie for him, accountable for their actions and statements.”
