Sexual assault lawsuit against Matt Schlapp is dropped

The Republican operative who accused the American Conservative Union head Matt Schlapp of sexual assault has dropped his lawsuits against him and his wife, Mercedes Schlapp, according to statements from the main parties.

Soon after the 2022 Herschel Walker Senate campaign, Carlton Huffman — a staffer working for that campaign — accused Schlapp of sexual battery and defamation. In a lawsuit, he sought $9.4 million in damages.

But in a statement on Tuesday, Huffman said he was discontinuing his lawsuits and issued an apology for bringing them.

“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,” Huffman said, according to a statement shared by a spokesperson for Schlapp.

“The Schlapps have advised that the statements made about me were the result of a misunderstanding, which was regrettable,” he added, referring to comments the couple had made about Huffman after he filed his suit. “Neither the Schlapps nor the ACU paid me anything to dismiss my claims against them.”

Asked about the statement, Huffman said in a text message to POLITICO: “We have resolved our differences” and confirmed the accuracy of the statement.

Huffman had earlier said Schlapp, without consent, “groped” and “fondled” his groin while he was driving Schlapp back to his hotel while the two were trying to help get Walker elected. Huffman had accused Schlapp of then inviting him up to his hotel room, which he said he had declined.

Schlapp asserted his innocence. It later was revealed that Huffman himself had been accused of sexual assault in an unrelated case.

“Our family was attacked, especially by a left-wing media that is focused on the destruction of conservatives regardless of the truth and the facts,” Schlapp said on Tuesday. “But we emerge from this ordeal stronger as husband and wife, stronger as parents to our five daughters, stronger as friends to those who stood by us.”

Huffman also had sued Republican activist Caroline Wren for defamation for attacking him after his accusation. That lawsuit was also dropped. Wren declined to comment.