Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union and owner of the lobbying firm of Cove Strategies, was paid $750,000 to secure a pardon for a Trump donor — and failed to come through.
Schlapp is best known for running the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
Last week, @nytmike & I revealed that MATT SCHLAPP was hired to lobby TRUMP for a pardon for Trump donor PETE PETIT. https://t.co/7gAUSfMj4c@MSCHLAPP disclosed yesterday he was paid $750k for that work between 12/17 & 12/31.
* Petit didn’t get pardoned. https://t.co/fMNDD6yb5Z pic.twitter.com/4U4ByzXT22
— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) January 22, 2021
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It turns out, Schlapp was paid big bucks by Parker “Pete” Petit to use his connections to the White House and get him a pardon for the securities fraud he was convicted of in 2019. He currently faces up to 20 years in prison.
Schlapp had two weeks to secure the pardon and failed, despite the fact that he is married to Mercedes Schlapp, who was President Donald Trump’s Director of Strategic Communications.
It is unclear if he will be returning any of the money to Petit.