We’ve been following the Matt Schlapp, right-wing gay sex fiend, predator narrative for a while. Wednesday, when victim Carlton Huffman made his announcement that it was
a- all a “complete misunderstanding”
b- settled without any money changing hands
It sure didn't ring true, to put it mildly. Huffman, with a straight face, said “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. Neither the Schlapps nor the ACU paid me anything to dismiss my claims against them.” I tweeted my LOL and wondered how long it would be before we found out how much Schlapp paid Huffman to say he hadn’t been paid off.
I used to hitchhike a lot when I was a kid— all over NYC and eventually to the West Coast. When someone grabs or fondles your crotch it’s never a “complete misunderstanding” and not even an incomplete misunderstanding. It’s sexual assault. And that’s exactly what Matt Schlapp did. He’s a sexual predator and those defending him— much of the American conservative movement— are enablers of that kind of behavior. And they know it. CPAC has always been a honey trap set by old closet queens like Schlapp for lonely young conservatives looking to break into the game.
Just hours after Huffman’s silly announcement, CNN reported the hefty pay-off. Jamie Gangel and Greg Krieg reported that Huffman “received a significant financial settlement in exchange for dropping his lawsuit against Schlapp… $480,000 paid through an insurance policy.” Schlapp, laughably claims he was exonerated. He wasn’t. When reached by CNN Huffman, sounding very coached, said “I am only legally allowed to say five words, and that is ‘We have resolved our differences.’ Those are the only five words that I’m legally allowed to say.” I wonder if he was laughing.
“The case,” wrote Gangel and Krieg, “was scheduled to go to trial in early June. By agreeing to the deal now, Schlapp and his lawyers prevented potentially damaging testimony from becoming public, including a deposition by Charlie Gerow, a former vice chair of CPAC and ACU board member who expressed serious concerns about Schlapp’s behavior in his resignation letter, as well as two witnesses who had previously accused Schlapp of sexual misconduct. Schlapp will also be spared from having to testify in open court. In addition, the settlement headed off new testimony from multiple witnesses who were scheduled to be deposed, including former officials from Walker’s 2022 Senate campaign and other witnesses with similar, contemporaneous knowledge about the alleged assault. A former official on the Walker campaign told CNN he does not believe the settlement exonerates Schlapp. ‘As far as I know the facts were never disputed,’ the Walker campaign official said. ‘I had no indication that Carlton fabricated his story, then or now. Matt (Schlapp) knew me well enough to call me, he never called me’ to contest Huffman’s claims. Another source, who has been in contact with Huffman, said that the case would not have been dropped without a financial settlement. ‘He wouldn’t have dropped it, his name and reputation were already public, he was ready to go to court,’ the source said. ‘I know (Huffman) definitely got paid.’”
Yesterday, the NY Times reported that “On social media, Schlapp reposted messages that falsely claimed he had been cleared of wrongdoing and asserted that Huffman had apologized, which he had not. Huffman’s lawyer, Tim Hyland, notified Schlapp that the social media posts violated the terms of the deal and that the two sides would return to court unless the problems were fixed. All of the social media posts flagged by Hyland have been deleted.”
Is there anyone with an IQ above 90 who could possibly believe that Schlapp is anything but a creepy crawly closet case looking for young men to prey on? Someone should ask Melania if she would let Barron sleep over at Schlapp's house without a chaperone.