Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) chairman Matt Schlapp retained a “DO NOT INVITE” spreadsheet of “Z listers” for his conferences. That list has been obtained by The National Pulse, and stunningly includes names such as Eric, Barron, and Tiffany Trump, as well as America First Members of Congress, and even some of CPAC’s own board members.
Schlapp’s treasurer – former Congressman Bob Beauprez – resigned last week alleging there was a “cancer” metastasizing inside the American Conservative Union (ACU), the parent organization of CPAC, also run by Schlapp. Dozens of staff have resigned in recent months.
Schlapp’s “Z-DO NOT INVITE” list is lengthy, and on a ‘CPAC Texas’ tab, includes names such as:
- Morton Blackwell, Priscilla O’Shaughnessy, Ron Robinson, and Tim Ryan – all believed to be current, active board members of Schlapp’s own organization;
- Reps. Paul Gosar, Matt Gaetz, James Comer, and around 50 other Members of Congress;
- Barron Trump, Tiffany Trump, and Eric Trump, all prominent members of the Trump family;
- General Flynn, Kayleigh McEnany, Kellyanne Conway, Brandon Straka, and dozens more.
It’s worth noting that’s Schlapp’s favoritism is fickle, with some of the “Z-list” having spoken at subsequent CPACs. But the unearthed list will add credence to the idea that Schlapp has used CPAC and the ACU as his personal playground for years.
Former CPAC board member Ned Ryun told The National Pulse: “It’s bizarre that the head of the ACU has a do not attend list of actual conservatives who can’t attend a conservative conference. We’re talking about him barring his own board members and elected members of Congress. Beyond being absurd, and obviously deeply personal and pettish, this stinks of cronyism, and a pay-to-play attitude.”
In 2014, when Schlapp took over CPAC, he told POLITICO: “The goal of ACU is not to kick all people out who might come from a different perspective,” he said. “In its name, it’s a union, to bring people together in a coalition. That’s the goal.”
Somewhere in the last nine years, that goal appears to have changed. A new book – The Big Break – details how the Schlapps even considered dropping their support for Donald Trump in 2016 over his immigration policies.
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