A former campaign staffer for Georgia GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker accused Matt Schlapp of making unwanted sexual advances towards him.
The unnamed staffer told The Daily Beast that Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, the main organizer behind the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), “groped” and “fondled” his crotch in his car while the staffer was driving him back from an Atlanta bar on October 19.
The staffer recorded videos after the incident describing Schlapp’s actions. He shared those videos with the Daily Beast and two people close to him, including his wife.
“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 in the video. “From the bar to the Hilton Garden Inn, he has his hands on me. And I feel so fucking dirty. I feel so fucking dirty.”
The staffer did not take legal action at the time because he was concerned that it would hurt his career. However, he informed Walker’s campaign of the alleged incident.
An official authorized to speak on behalf of Walker’s campaign confirmed that the staffer had reported the alleged incident to them and that they set up a meeting between him and an attorney.
Schlapp’s attorney denied the allegations in a statement to the Daily Beast, calling it an “attack.”
“This appears to be now the twelfth Daily Beast piece with personal attacks on Matt Schlapp and his family,” the attorney said. “The attack is false and Mr. Schlapp denies any improper behavior. We are evaluating legal options for response.”
But, the staffer provided the The Daily Beast with text messages between him and Schlapp in which he notified Schlapp that the campaign will provide a different driver because he was “uncomfortable” with what happened the previous night.
“I did want to say I was uncomfortable with what happened last night. The campaign does have a driver who is available to get you to Macon and back to the airport,” he texted.
Schlapp did not ask the staffer what made him feel uncomfortable. Instead, he tried calling several times and when he did not get an answer he sent a text asking the staffer to look “in your heart” and call back.
The staffer never called back.
[Featured Image: Elijah Nouvelage / Bloomberg via Getty Images]
