American Conservative Union chief Matt Schlapp and his wife Mercedes have been off the air at Fox News since he was accused of groping a political campaign staffer.
The Daily Beast first reported on Jan. 6 that an unnamed staffer on Herschel Walker’s Senate campaign accused Schlapp of groping his crotch non-consensually while the two shared a car in Atlanta last October.
Schlapp, who organizes the influential Conservative Political Action Conference, denied the allegations through his lawyer. The accuser, described by the Times as a longtime Republican political aide, is now suing Schlapp for defamation and conspiracy over the alleged sexual assault.
Since the Beast 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.
Despite the allegation, CPAC is going ahead: the gathering will take place in early March.
