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Embattled conservative activist Matt Schlapp made an offer in March to settle the multimillion-dollar sexual battery and defamation lawsuit against him, but the proposal was rejected, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The offer from Schlapp was in the low six figures, according to the sources. But Schlapp’s accuser—Republican strategist Carlton Huffman, who filed the lawsuit against Schlapp and his wife, Mercedes Schlapp, in January—turned it down and countered with a substantially higher sum. Schlapp did not accept the counterproposal, the sources said.
The settlement negotiations were brought to the attention of officials at Schlapp’s organization, the American Conservative Union, which hosts the annual CPAC conferences. But the ACU board was not formally consulted and did not vote on the offer ahead of time, according to multiple people with knowledge of the events. These sources spoke to The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of retaliation.