EXCLUSIVE: Ex-CPAC staffer acquitted in $14K payout case
Alexandria circuit judge questions why CPAC could not provide evidence to support claims of pilfering vacation time
ALEXANDRIA, Va. _ Alexandria Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Uston acquitted former CPAC finance director Ryan McGowan Tuesday in a case in which CPAC brass accused their former top money man of wrongly paying five former staffers too much paid time off on their way out the door.
During a roughly 30-minute recitation of the evidence in the case, Judge Uston repeatedly noted that the two witnesses for the prosecution, CPAC executive Lynne Rasmussen and CPAC’s former full-time general counsel, David Safavian, repeatedly contradicted each other’s testimony — and at times their own testimony.
She also repeatedly praised McGowan and a large group of former CPAC staffers who testified in his support, for providing evidence and details showing that McGowan made the payouts by the book.
At one point, Judge Uston questioned why Rasmussen, who still works at CPAC, testified that she had emailed staff regarding the reported policy of limiting paid time off, but never provided the emails.
CPAC’s office is directly across the street from the Alexandria courthouse.
Uston also pointed to conflicting testimony from Rasmussen, who said under oath that McGowan’s deputy, David Patrick, did not have the power to change payroll details, but was later shown a text exchange in which she asked the deputy to increase her salary by 15 percent and not tell McGowan.
Uston also recounted apparent frustration from the Alexandria detective who investigated the case at not being told by Rasmussen about key details which came out during testimony Monday.
The amount of vacation time paid out, $14,000, may seem small for an organization which rakes in tens of millions of dollars annually and not worth the time. (And also did not break the law, as the court found Tuesday.)
But CPAC has pursued other actions against the same small group of former staffers who resigned amid the Matt Schlapp sex scandal.
McGowan and other staffers started their own conservative organization which graded lawmakers on votes, long a staple of CPAC and its parent organization the American Conservative Union, but a civil suit filed by CPAC against the former staffers was tossed out earlier this year.
The defense in the case, including McGowan himself, repeatedly testified that McGowan was careful with the organization’s money — helping it pass an audit after a tumultuous period before McGowan started with the group — and even opposed the policy change which allowed departing workers to keep more of their unused vacation time.
Former executive director Dan Schneider testified that he made the change in PTO payouts to compensate staff for the nonstop work period for months before each CPAC conference in suburban Washington.
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“‘It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s also the moral and probably legal thing to do,’” Uston recounted Schneider testifying.
The trial this week revived talk of Schlapp’s role in the longstanding conservative organization, two years after sexual assault allegations rocked the group, with
At one point Monday, Safavian testified that McGowan had raised concerns with him about CPAC paying a $50,000 legal bill for Schlapp as the sex scandal ramped up.
Despite the mass departures and scandals, including reports this year of another unwanted groping, CPAC 2025 drew the biggest names from the Trump White House, including top White adviser Elon Musk, multiple Cabinet members and Trump himself.
CPAC 2025 also featured a large number of global leaders, including Argentinian President Javier Milei, and others.
Justice!