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Long-serving CPAC VP rips the group and its accused crotch-grabbing leader Matt Schlapp [1]
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Date: 2023-11-14
When former CPAC vice-president Charlie Gerow resigned from the venerable conservative organization in August, he explained his rationale in a private letter. The letter was obtained by the Daily Beast. The site has now published extracts from the 2,800-word document. Even those few glimpses show the frustration of a man horrified by the organization’s circle-the-wagons, damn-the-expense defense of its President, Matt Schlapp, against charges he is a sexual predator .
Gerow is not an enemy of the conservative state. In addition to his CPAC responsibilities, he was on the board of CPAC’s parent organization, The Conservative Union, for over twenty years. But Gerow is that rara avis, a conservative with a moral code. And he has the spine to act when he sees immorality — even when the offenders are his fellow conservatives.
The primary sinner is Matt Schlapp. Schlapp is yet another in an endless series of hedonistic hypocrites who sanctimoniously embrace Christian family values by day — Schlapp is a ‘good’ Catholic boy — before sexually assaulting some poor innocent at night.
In Schlapp’s case, the object of his unwanted, aggressive crotch-grabbing was a staffer from Herschel Walker's senate campaign, Carlton Huffman, who had been assigned to Schlapp as a chauffeur. After a night of Matt drinking, Huffman claims that Schlapp was trying to find the grand prize in his pants.
To no one’s surprise, CPAC reflexively protected one of its own by throwing money and rule-breaking at the problem. It was this profligate defense that has so pissed off Gerow. He wrote,
“Tragically, for those who are encouraging Matt to ‘fight this to the end,’ the costs are already staggering. Earlier this year we were advised that the legal strategy of Matt's counsel would ‘blow this case out of the water’ within 30 days. That obviously did not happen. Instead, huge legal bills continue to mount.”
Gerow said that CPAC had already spent $1 million on lawyers before discovery began. Which was money pissed away as he predicted there would be no trial. Instead, Gerow anticipated that CPAC would reach a settlement “with a cost in the millions of dollars.” And he was concerned about how much of that outgo CPAC’s insurance would ultimately cover. And how much of its own money the group would have to fork out for Schlapp’s sex crimes.
It was not his only worry.
Gerow also questioned if CPAC complied with its own bylaws or D.C. law governing nonprofits. His fears were compounded by CPAC’s apathetic response to all things Schlapp, as CPAC never commissioned
“any independent investigation into the underlying accusations made against Matt Schlapp, something any similarly situated nonprofit or for-profit corporation would have done.”
Gerow also accused CPAC of other official bad behavior. He wrote that if a nonprofit decides to cover litigation costs, they must sign an affirmation of terms of coverage. Yet he discovered during a conversation with Schlapp at CPAC headquarters that no such affirmation document existed. And that he was subject to an organizational attempt to drown him with dross.
“Although I was presented with reams of paper I had not asked for, this vital sheet of paper was missing.”
As so often happens, where there is fire, there is more fire. The Daily Beast reported that Gerow begged CPAC to get a grip, as not only Huffman, but other young men had been targets of the female-married Schlapp’s libidinous adventurism.
“Gerow also asked the board to commission an outside law firm or agency to investigate sexual misconduct allegations against Schlapp, “including those made by Carlton Huffman and any others of which the Board or staff may be aware.” (The Daily Beast has previously confirmed The Washington Post’s reporting on two additional alleged incidents.)
Wait, there’s more. The Daily Beast added,
“In September, a CPAC spokesperson told The Daily Beast that, “for their part, the Schlapps have been firm in their resolve to be vindicated and are fully prepared to go to trial.” That same month, CPAC and Schlapp were hit with a second, separate employment discrimination lawsuit seeking a total $55 million in damages.”
CPAC is a cesspit of caca. We should not be surprised. Conservatism is the home of scoundrels, cads, pussy-grabbers, crooks, rapists, con artists, crackpots, bigots, racists, misogynists, xenophobes, fascists, and poor money managers. Some might even say deplorables. To paraphrase Chief Brody in Jaws, “They’re going to need a bigger basket.”
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[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/14/2205881/-Long-serving-CPAC-VP-rips-the-group-and-its-accused-crotch-grabbing-leader-Matt-Schlapp?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web
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