CPAC's Matt Schlapp's settlement in sexual assault case cost $480K

Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Chair Matt Schlapp agreed to a $480,000 settlement with the GOP strategist who had accused him of sexual assault, according to media reports.

A source familiar with the details told CNN that the sum was paid to Carlton Huffman, the Republican operative who accused Schlapp of grabbing him without consent. Huffman received the settlement through an insurance policy in exchange for dropping the lawsuit.

In a statement released by Schlapp’s lawyers, Huffman said his claims were “the result of a complete misunderstanding, and I regret that the lawsuit cased pain to the Schlapp family.”

“Neither the Schlapps nor the ACU paid me anything to dismiss my claims against them,” his statement said.

CNN reported that multiple source familiar with the situation said Huffman did receive a financial settlement from an insurance company. Huffman told the outlet that he was “legally only allowed to say five words, and that is ‘We have resolved our differences.’”

The Hill reached out to Huffman’s lawyer, Tim Hyland, who confirmed that “The parties have resolved their differences,” but did not provide further details.  

CPAC and Schlapp’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Huffman, a former staffer of Republican Herschel Walker’s Georgia Senate campaign, sued Schlapp and his wife, Mercedes Sclapp, last year, alleging that the CPAC head was “aggressively fondling” his groin while they drove from a restaurant to a hotel during a campaign stop in October 2022.

Mercedes Schlapp is a former Trump administration official.

In addition to his duties at CPAC, Matt Schlapp is the chair of the American Conservative Union (ACU).

The lawsuit asked for $9.4 million from the couple for a count of sexual battery against Matt Schlapp, a count of defamation against the couple, and a count of conspiracy against them for what Huffman claimed were attempts to defame him.

The Hill has reached out to Mark Corallo, a spokesperson for Schlapp’s legal team, but he told CNN to refer to Huffman’s statement.

A former official on Walker’s campaign told CNN that he does not believe the settlement exonerates Schlapp from wrongdoing because “the facts were never disputed” and he had “no indication that Carlton fabricated this story.”  

The case had been scheduled to go to trial in June.