Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union and his wife, Mercedes, are apparently now banned from the airwaves at Fox News, the latest major fallout from allegations that Matt groped and sexually assaulted a staffer who worked for the failed Senate campaign of 2022 Republican nominee Herschel Walker.
According to Mediaite, neither Matt or Mercedes have appeared on Fox since the allegations first surfaced earlier this month.
Since the … story broke, Matt and Mercedes, who were regulars on Fox News and Fox Business, have disappeared from the air. Mercedes, who served in former President Donald Trump’s White House and on his unsuccessful 2020 campaign, was last on the air the morning of Jan. 6, while Matt hasn’t appeared on either network since Jan. 4.
Fox has yet to cover the groping allegation. The network did not respond to a request for comment on the absence of the Schlapps from the air.
The Daily Beast was first to report on what allegedly transpired between Matt Schlapp and the Walker staffer.
A staffer for Herschel Walker’s Senate campaign has alleged to The Daily Beast that longtime Republican activist Matt Schlapp made “sustained and unwanted and unsolicited” sexual contact with him while the staffer was driving Schlapp back from an Atlanta bar this October.
The staffer said the incident occurred the night of Oct. 19, when Schlapp, chair of the American Conservative Union and lead organizer for the influential Conservative Political Action Conference, “groped” and “fondled” his crotch in his car against his will after buying him drinks at two different bars.
The staffer described Schlapp, who had traveled to Georgia for a Walker campaign event, as inappropriately and repeatedly intruding into his personal space at the bars. He said he was also keenly aware of his “power dynamic” with Schlapp, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in national conservative politics.
Schlapp as repeatedly denied he did anything improper and CPAC will continue to be held in March, though it remains unclear if he will be in attendance.
