Who is Matt Schlapp, the top Trump ally being sued for sexual battery?

A lawsuit was filed by an anonymous plaintiff Tuesday against Matt Schlapp and his wife Mercedes, two prominent Republican insiders in Washington, DC, alleging sexual battery and defamation. The two are a conservative power couple at the intersection between traditional movement conservatism and the MAGA wing of the GOP.

The lawsuit dates back to October 2022, when Schlapp was accused of robbing and soliciting a male staff member of Herschel Walker’s Senate campaign while appearing at an event for the Republican of Georgia. The incident, first reported by the Daily Beast, was immediately reported to a senior official on Walker’s campaign, which Vox was able to confirm.

The lawsuit doesn’t just target Schlapp for what he describes as “aggressive fondling [the plaintiff’s] genital area in a fixed manner,” but for what it describes as an organized effort by Schlapp and his wife to discredit and humiliate the accused. The lawsuit also says that the accuser was defamed by Charlie Spies, Schlapp’s lawyer, and Caroline Wren, a Republican operative who attended a rally on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC, in addition to the Schlapps. The lawsuit includes a text that Mercedes Schlapp sent to a neighborhood group chat that described the accuser as “a troubled person who was fired for lying.”

Who is Matt Schlapp?

Schlapp is at the center of the conservative establishment in Washington. A former political director in the George W. Bush White House, in 2014 he became head of the American Conservative Union (ACU), a right-wing group that created the highly influential annual Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC) conference. Schlapp’s fame grew during the Trump administration when he became a vocal ally of the former president, appearing regularly on Fox News, and Mercedes Schlapp became a top staffer in the Trump White House. At the same time, Schlapp, a father of five, maintains active lobbying through his firm Cove Strategies and has earned millions during the Trump administration. As a writer Lachlan When and Asawin Suebsaeng describes it in a critically acclaimed book Dive into the Swamp, “Schlapps has carved a niche for himself as a Trump-era power couple, wielding influence in the president’s inner circle and translating that influence into lucrative lobbying deals.”

Why are they important?

Schlapp is important because of ACU and CPAC. Inside the Beltway, there are many well-connected Republicans, and certainly some Trump allies, who are trying to parlay their ties to the former president into a right-wing media personality. But what separates Schlapp from the average Tom, Dick, or Seb Gorka is his control of CPAC. The conference is the annual measuring stick of the conservative movement’s id and has followed a far-right drift toward Trumpism as figures once banned from the conference are now extremists. featured speaker. It’s a place where establishment politicians look when they need to woo conservatives and where conservative politicians show up to get noticed.

CPAC is also a revenue center where sponsors try to get the conservative movement to achieve policy goals. In the Trump era, traditional corporate sponsorships have retreated in favor of more MAGA-leaning groups and companies. The fight over what topics are and aren’t covered at CPAC is heating up. More recently, traditional social conservatives have complained about abortion has been sidetracked for MAGAworld favorites like targeting big tech and “wokeism.”

Finally, CPAC is a sight to behold. It draws Republican officials, candidate officials, operatives, consultants, grifters, and just weird freaks from around the country. It’s the place where attendees are seen dressed as George Washington, irreverent members of Congress have hot tub parties, and where much of Washington’s network sausage making is done. While other conservative groups like TPUSA have held buzzier events with high-profile speakers as well, CPAC still maintains a unique convening power on the right.

The suit raises questions about whether Schlapp will be able to retain his high-profile role as head of the ACU and just weeks before CPAC’s annual conference in early March, which usually draws international attention. The conference has partnered with conservative LGBT groups in the past, such as GOProud and Log Cabin Republicans, although it has also hosted speakers like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who condemned same-sex marriage on stage at last year’s conference in Texas.

What is happening now

In a statement to Vox, Tim Hyland, lawyer for the plaintiff, said: “Our client was the victim of sexual assault by Mr. Schlapp … Mr. Schlapp did not immediately deny our client’s allegations and with good reason – they are unmistakably true and corroborated by contemporaneous evidence extensive. However, he has through his friends and colleagues started a campaign of whispers and leveled social media attacks spreading lies about our client.

“We intend to remain singularly focused on demonstrating that Matt Schlapp is a sexual predator who assaulted our client. Because Mr. Schlapp has refused to admit to his actions, this lawsuit aims to hold Mr. Schlapp and those who lied to him accountable for their actions. The lawsuit asks compensation of at least $9.4 million.

At statement posted by Schlapp on Twitter, Spies said: “This anonymous complaint shows the real agenda of the accuser, working with [the] Every day the Beast to attack and harm the Schlapp family. The complaint is false and the Schlapp family has suffered unbearable pain and stress due to the false accusations of an anonymous individual. No family should have to go through this, and the Schlapps and their legal team are evaluating counter-suit options.

Neither Schlapp nor Spies responded to a follow-up request for comment from Vox.