BUSTED: Audio recording undermines top Republican's sworn denial of threats

Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury
01 May
Political consultant Matt Moran is in charge of Gov. Glenn Youngkin's Spirit of Virginia PAC.(Creative Direct company photo)

A newly surfaced recording of an April 27 conversation between Matt Moran, the top political strategist for Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and members of Republican John Reid’s campaign appears to contradict Moran’s sworn affidavit — directly challenging his claim that he never pressured Reid’s team to leave the lieutenant governor’s race.

Top Youngkin strategist breaks silence, denies Reid’s extortion claims as GOP feud continues

The audio, obtained and reviewed by The Mercury on Thursday, captures Moran and attorney Tim Anderson, who attended the meeting at the Offices of LINK Public Affairs in Richmond as a witness for Moran, in a conversation with Reid’s campaign manager, Noah Jennings, and Reid’s longtime partner, Alonzo Mable.

Jennings confirmed in a text message that he was present during the conversation and that the recording is accurate. In response to a request for comment on the recording, Moran didn’t confirm or deny his participation in the conversation but said by text message, “That’s not the full audio.”

The conversation came at the height of a growing crisis inside the Virginia GOP, as party leaders wrestled with how to handle damaging material linked to Reid, a conservative radio host and the first openly gay candidate on a statewide ticket in Virginia history.

In the affidavit Moran released Wednesday, he flatly denied wrongdoing, asserting: “I never attacked John and did not threaten or coerce him. I communicated what I truly believed was in his best interests.”

On the recording, Moran, the head of Youngkin’s political organization Spirit of Virginia PAC, can be heard explicitly framing Reid’s exit as the only way to stop the release of damaging opposition research.

“If he stays in the race, it is going to continue,” Moran says in the recording. “That hurts our candidates up and down the ticket. Him getting out of the race is the only way it stops, and then, yeah, it absolutely would have to stop. Forevermore after that.”

In a video posted on X after the meeting Sunday afternoon, Reid alleged that Youngkin’s political team told his campaign the attacks would stop only if he withdrew — framing the offer as the kind of pressure that borders on extortion.

Youngkin’s political adviser under fire as extortion allegations rock Virginia GOP

Reid’s campaign followed up Monday with a cease-and-desist letter accusing Moran of defamation, asserting that the political consultant had falsely linked him to the explicit Tumblr account — which Reid said he had nothing to do with.

“While this account shared a common username with our client’s Instagram, he is not and never has been associated with the account,” the letter from Reid’s lawyer Charles Spies stated.

Moran’s affidavit portrays the vulnerability report at the center of the dispute as standard campaign work, saying Reid’s team was fully informed. But the audio reveals Moran and Anderson discussing the need for formal legal agreements to lock down the damaging material.

“So, the worst thing for John is he resigns and he still gets f***ed”,” Anderson says in the recording, adding that any agreement would need to “seal it shut” with an assurance from the governor. Moran agrees, calling it “a reasonable request,” and speculates that Youngkin would commit to ensuring the material never surfaced.

Jennings and Mable, meanwhile, repeatedly asked Moran for documentation, with Moran offering to send a four-page summary and a 16-page report. Moran had previously said Reid’s campaign knew these details.

The emergence of the recording marks another flashpoint in a political storm that has shaken Virginia Republicans for the past week, deepening internal fractures and fueling charges of political backstabbing just months before the November elections.

The controversy began after The Richmonder reported that Youngkin personally called Reid to urge him to drop out, citing concerns over explicit posts shared by a Tumblr account using Reid’s social media username.

For days, Moran stayed silent. Then, on Wednesday evening — less than two hours before Reid took the stage alone at a Henrico County GOP rally where Youngkin canceled his appearance — Moran broke his silence with a public post.

“Let me be clear, facts matter, and they will demonstrate the accusations against me are unfounded,” Moran declared on X.

Moran’s attorney, Terwilliger, followed with a sharply worded letter rejecting Reid’s claims as misinformed, warning that continued accusations could carry legal consequences, and insisting Moran “never attempted to extort, coerce, or pressure Mr. Reid.” The letter also floated the possibility of a private call to resolve the matter.

Several Republican officials, alarmed by the deepening controversy, have publicly called on Youngkin to fire Moran, arguing that the strategist’s continued presence is damaging the party’s credibility and distracting from its November election efforts.

In deepening Va. GOP crisis, Reid accuses Youngkin PAC of extortion. Is a legal battle ahead?

For Moran, 36, the high-stakes fight is the latest chapter in a political career spanning more than a decade.

He began as a campaign manager and legislative aide before becoming spokesman for then-House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, and later chief of staff to Speaker Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights.

When Youngkin took office, Moran joined the administration as director of policy and legislative affairs — notably working without a state salary while remaining on leave from his consulting firms, Creative Direct and Link Public Affairs.

Whether the newly surfaced recording leads to legal action or further fractures Virginia’s Republican Party remains to be seen, but it has injected new urgency into a race already engulfed in controversy — and added yet another element to the political storm surrounding Youngkin’s team just months ahead of a critical election.

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Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.

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