The Republican staffer who alleged he was sexually assaulted by GOP mega-lobbyist and American Conservative Union director Matt Schlapp has abruptly withdrawn his lawsuit and retracted his allegations.
According to The New York Times, Carlton Huffman issued a statement saying, “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. The Schlapps have advised that the statements made about me were the result of a misunderstanding, which was regrettable. Neither the Schlapps nor the ACU paid me anything to dismiss my claims against them.”
Other lawsuits Huffman filed against the ACU and Schlapp assistant Caroline Wren will also be dropped, the report stated.
Huffman, who previously worked on the failed Georgia Senate campaign of Herschel Walker, had alleged that while he was driving Schlapp to a hotel, he aggressively grabbed Huffman's genitals.
Huffman originally made the allegation anonymously and didn't come forward with his identity to the public until months later.
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Schlapp, who through the ACU puts on the regular Conservative Political Action Conference, has always maintained his innocence and claimed the allegation and lawsuit were a left-wing media plot to destroy him.
Further complicating the matter, Huffman himself was facing an unrelated sexual assault accusation.
While the lawsuit will not proceed, Huffman's claims are not the only accusations against Schlapp — the lawsuit previously turned up evidence that two young men, not identified, allege they were abused by Schlapp in other incidents, including one where Schlapp allegedly stripped to his underwear while drunk and rubbed his genitals against one of them at a fundraiser event. There are also allegations that a CPAC official destroyed documents immediately after the original Huffman accusation went public.
Last week, reporting had indicated that Huffman was close to reaching a settlement.
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