Lawfare comes up short as two high-profile conservatives see cases dropped

A pair of political heavyweights on the right side of the aisle witnessed the ends of longstanding and potentially existential court cases against them on Tuesday, setting the stage for their potential resurgences and renewed scrutiny of allegations against prominent figures.

While Texas GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton reached an agreement with prosecutors to drop securities fraud charges after nine years, American Conservative Union head Matt Schlapp saw a former Herschel Walker campaign staffer rescind his claims of sexual battery and defamation and end a civil suit against him.

Paxton has been a legal titan for the American right for years, notably sparring with the Biden administration over his home state's unilateral efforts to protect the southern border amid the unprecedented surge in illegal crossings. Schlapp, meanwhile, is perhaps best known as the organizer of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), one of the largest gatherings of conservative leaders in the country.

"The salacious way in which the Schlapps' material was reported, it was kind of sick and weird," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton on the "Just the News, No Noise" television show. "And you know, it looks like that whole thing was a farce, the claimant has completely run away from his claims."

"The case of Paxton has been 10 years, this would have begun under the Obama administration. They've been harassing him. It's a further indictment of our system of justice here, where the left media echoes friendly claims at targets they all don't like, whether it be Matt Schlapp or the Attorney General of Texas, or obviously President Trump," Fitton said.

"But we should know it's not just an economist, as a reminder, it's not just Trump, who has been victimized by lawfare," he went on. "It's folks who are effective, public, and seen as dangerous by the left to their agenda. And and you don't have to be high and mighty to get on their radar."

Ken Paxton

Paxton was indicted in 2015 on allegations that he failed to tell investors he had a financial stake in a technology firm when selling them on the investment. His Tuesday consent agreement means he would pay $270,000 in restitution, take 15 hours of legal ethics classes, and complete 100 hours of community service.

The arrangement saw all of the charges dropped without Paxton making any admission of wrongdoing. He was slated to appear before a jury in the coming weeks.

In September of last year, he survived an impeachment attempt over allegations of bribery and abuse of public trust. The Texas House impeached him on 20 articles, though the Senate declined to consider four of them and acquitted Paxton on the remaining 16.

Matt Schlapp

Schlapp, for his part, witnessed the end of a sexual battery and defamation suit from a former Herschel Walker campaign staffer that could have seen him pay as much as $9.4 million in restitution.

Carlton Huffman initially claimed that Schlapp had touched his groin without his consent while the pair were in a car together. He further brought suit against Mercedes Schlapp, Matt's wife. 

Huffman dropped the suit on Tuesday, stating that "[t]he claims made in my lawsuits were the result of a complete misunderstanding, and I regret that the lawsuit caused pain to the Schlapp family... Neither the Schlapps nor the ACU paid me anything to dismiss my claims against them."

Matt Schlapp said in a statement that "From the beginning, we asserted our innocence. Our family was attacked by a left-wing media that is focused on the destruction of conservatives regardless of the truth and the facts." 

Declarations of Victory

Both celebrated the legal developments and insisted they would move forward undeterred by the accusations.

"For over a decade, my family and I have been dealing with the ongoing stress of these accusations and are relieved to finally have a resolution in this matter," Paxton said. "The prosecution came to us to begin negotiations and we were able to come to an agreement on terms. There will never be a conviction in this case nor am I guilty."

"I look forward to putting this behind me," he continued. "I want to thank my family, team, and supporters for sticking by my side. Dealing with a 10-year case looming over our heads was no easy task. I am glad to move on and will provide further comment in the weeks ahead."

"[W]e emerge from this ordeal stronger as husband and wife, stronger as parents to our five daughters, stronger as friends to those who stood by us. Our faith in God sustained us.  Our understanding of what is truly important in life – our faith in God and loving our family and friends – has been brought into sharp focus as never before," Schlapp declared.

"Going forward, our eyes are wide open, we understand the struggle better and we learned we must stand our ground and fight or else the haters on the left will destroy every conservative and ultimately our nation," he added.

Other major exonerations

Paxton and Schlapp are far from the only conservative figures to have come under legal scrutiny or faced dubious allegations only to be eventually exonerated. Former President Donald Trump, for instance, was alleged to have grabbed the steering wheel of the presidential SUB on Jan. 6, 2021, hoping to take the vehicle to the U.S. Capitol.

Former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson had made the allegations to the House Jan. 6 Committee, though a report from the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight this month revealed that the panel had suppressed a denial of her account from the driver of the presidential SUV.

Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, for his part, faced allegations of involvement with a sex trafficking ring, which he steadfastly denied. The Department of Justice ultimately opted against bringing any charges against him last year.

Former Virginia GOP Gov. Bob McDonnell, moreover, was convicted on 11 counts related to correction that now-special counsel Jack Smith had brought, though the Supreme Court in 2016 unanimously vacated his conviction.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.