ALEXANDRIA, VA - As the country prepares for next year’s presidential election, turmoil has apparently struck one of the preeminent conservative organizations in America, the American Conservative Union (ACU), who organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
According to The Washington Times, vice chair Charlie Gerow has resigned and demands an investigation into ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp and the organization’s finances.
Gerow, a longtime member of the board, is the latest in many who have left the organization, noting that should send a wakeup call to the ACU, a longtime part of the conservative movement and a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump.
Aside from investigating the ACU’s finances, Gerow believes the organization should also launch a probe into sexual assault allegations made against Schlapp in a lawsuit.
“It’s a great honor to serve CPAC. It was a large portion of my life that I gave to this organization, and I’m sad the state of affairs is such that I believe the only course of action that’s appropriate at this point is to resign,” Gerow said.
CPAC has been a longtime annual event in which conservative icons and elected officials rally support for conservative causes. CPAC has been used in some cases as a launchpad for aspiring presidential candidates.
The Times reached out to Schlapp for comment however, the request went unanswered. The ACU, however, describes Gerow’s action “as a case of sour grapes” and defined his criticism and subsequent resignation as a maneuver to save face since the ACU board notified him he would not be getting another term.
“There are multiple public videos of Charlie Gerow endorsing and supporting the Chairman’s leadership, including extended remarks at the most recent national CPAC while the organization was under attack,” CPAC said in a social media post.
“We took Mr. Gerow’s public comments as being truthful, and we have no reason to doubt them now.”
Gerow dismissed CPAC’s response, claiming that Schlapp has loaded the board with his allies to “insulate” himself from criticism. He noted the difference between Schlapp’s actions when he supported him, which he defined as “positive,” but said he was vocal in criticizing Schlapp when his performance was negative.
“Matt Schlapp wants it to be about him,” Gerow told the outlet. “It is not. It is all about CPAC/ACU and the conservative cause. The heart of the matter is that praise is welcomed, and repeated constructive criticism and important questions were not."
In his resignation letter, Gerow is seeking from the ACU board:
Huffman claims that Schlapp, after a night of heavy drinking, groped him while Huffman was driving Schlapp around during the Walker campaign. Schlapp has denied any such incident.
After Huffman’s allegations became public, Gerow publicly defended him, saying he was “squarely” behind him and referred to Schlapp as “good people.” He dismissed Huffman’s allegations as an “egregious attack” while claiming it was a move to “scorch the earth in their quest to cancel those with whom they disagree.”
“We know Matt Schlapp’s heart and his character. And we believe this latest attempt at character assassination is false,” Gerow said in a written statement co-authored by Carolyn Meadows, ACU’s second vice chair, at the time of the sexual assault allegation.
Gerow said he co-authored the letter upon Schlapp's request, who asked him to vouch for his character.
“I did so. But I’ve been increasingly concerned that we never conducted an independent investigation to determine whether the charges were true or false,” Gerow said. “This is something any other organization would have done.”
Gerow’s resignation follows the May resignation of ACU’s treasurer, Bob Beauprez, a decision that Gerow claims raised some alarms. In his resignation letter, Beauprez slammed Schlapp and ACU’s board for a lack of transparency and criticized money spent on Schlapp’s legal defense.
“I’ve come to think that the expectations for my role as a director and officer are much the same as that of a mushroom—‘To be kept in the dark and fed a lot of manure.’ I am no longer willing to comply,” Beauprez wrote.
Gerow’s resignation has raised the alarm for some former associates of ACU, including David Keene, who led the group from 1984 to 2011.
“Charlie [Gerow] is a guy who, I have to say, has always, to my knowledge, spoken the truth as he sees it,” Keene told The Times. “For him to speak out about these concerns raises my concerns and should raise the concerns of any board member or supporter of ACU or CPAC.”
Keene is critical of ACU and CPAC, claiming it “has become more of a show and a showplace for Donald Trump and his beliefs. There is nothing wrong with that if that was just a part of it, but that was not what CPAC was all about,” Keene said.
“They got together, they often argued, and they reflected the breadth of the movement. Today, it is pretty much the breadth of what Matt wants it to be.”
Keene believes the ACU “is a ship that needs to be righted” but doesn’t remain confident that the current board will alter its present course.
According to The Washington Times, vice chair Charlie Gerow has resigned and demands an investigation into ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp and the organization’s finances.
Gerow, a longtime member of the board, is the latest in many who have left the organization, noting that should send a wakeup call to the ACU, a longtime part of the conservative movement and a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump.
Aside from investigating the ACU’s finances, Gerow believes the organization should also launch a probe into sexual assault allegations made against Schlapp in a lawsuit.
“It’s a great honor to serve CPAC. It was a large portion of my life that I gave to this organization, and I’m sad the state of affairs is such that I believe the only course of action that’s appropriate at this point is to resign,” Gerow said.
CPAC has been a longtime annual event in which conservative icons and elected officials rally support for conservative causes. CPAC has been used in some cases as a launchpad for aspiring presidential candidates.
The Times reached out to Schlapp for comment however, the request went unanswered. The ACU, however, describes Gerow’s action “as a case of sour grapes” and defined his criticism and subsequent resignation as a maneuver to save face since the ACU board notified him he would not be getting another term.
“There are multiple public videos of Charlie Gerow endorsing and supporting the Chairman’s leadership, including extended remarks at the most recent national CPAC while the organization was under attack,” CPAC said in a social media post.
“We took Mr. Gerow’s public comments as being truthful, and we have no reason to doubt them now.”
Gerow dismissed CPAC’s response, claiming that Schlapp has loaded the board with his allies to “insulate” himself from criticism. He noted the difference between Schlapp’s actions when he supported him, which he defined as “positive,” but said he was vocal in criticizing Schlapp when his performance was negative.
“Matt Schlapp wants it to be about him,” Gerow told the outlet. “It is not. It is all about CPAC/ACU and the conservative cause. The heart of the matter is that praise is welcomed, and repeated constructive criticism and important questions were not."
In his resignation letter, Gerow is seeking from the ACU board:
- An independent investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Schlapp;
- An independent forensic audit of the organization’s finances;
- A written legal opinion that ACU is fully compliant with its own bylaws;
- A thorough investigation to examine exit interviews from the former employees who have left the organization.
Huffman claims that Schlapp, after a night of heavy drinking, groped him while Huffman was driving Schlapp around during the Walker campaign. Schlapp has denied any such incident.
After Huffman’s allegations became public, Gerow publicly defended him, saying he was “squarely” behind him and referred to Schlapp as “good people.” He dismissed Huffman’s allegations as an “egregious attack” while claiming it was a move to “scorch the earth in their quest to cancel those with whom they disagree.”
“We know Matt Schlapp’s heart and his character. And we believe this latest attempt at character assassination is false,” Gerow said in a written statement co-authored by Carolyn Meadows, ACU’s second vice chair, at the time of the sexual assault allegation.
Gerow said he co-authored the letter upon Schlapp's request, who asked him to vouch for his character.
“I did so. But I’ve been increasingly concerned that we never conducted an independent investigation to determine whether the charges were true or false,” Gerow said. “This is something any other organization would have done.”
Gerow’s resignation follows the May resignation of ACU’s treasurer, Bob Beauprez, a decision that Gerow claims raised some alarms. In his resignation letter, Beauprez slammed Schlapp and ACU’s board for a lack of transparency and criticized money spent on Schlapp’s legal defense.
“I’ve come to think that the expectations for my role as a director and officer are much the same as that of a mushroom—‘To be kept in the dark and fed a lot of manure.’ I am no longer willing to comply,” Beauprez wrote.
Gerow’s resignation has raised the alarm for some former associates of ACU, including David Keene, who led the group from 1984 to 2011.
“Charlie [Gerow] is a guy who, I have to say, has always, to my knowledge, spoken the truth as he sees it,” Keene told The Times. “For him to speak out about these concerns raises my concerns and should raise the concerns of any board member or supporter of ACU or CPAC.”
Keene is critical of ACU and CPAC, claiming it “has become more of a show and a showplace for Donald Trump and his beliefs. There is nothing wrong with that if that was just a part of it, but that was not what CPAC was all about,” Keene said.
“They got together, they often argued, and they reflected the breadth of the movement. Today, it is pretty much the breadth of what Matt wants it to be.”
Keene believes the ACU “is a ship that needs to be righted” but doesn’t remain confident that the current board will alter its present course.
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