Media Matters CEO Embroiled in $850G 'Blackmail' Scandal with Former Domestic Partner

David Brock, CEO of the George Soros-backed website Media Matters, dished out $850,000 to an ex-domestic partner after he was threatened with “damaging information involving the organization’s donors and the IRS,” according Fox News.

In a lawsuit settled last year, Brock accused William Grey, his former domestic partner, of repeatedly threatening to expose him to the "scorn or ridicule of his employees, donors and the press in demanding money and property."

The Media Matters CEO claims he was forced to sell his Rehoboth Beach, DE, home in order to meet Grey’s demands. Grey responded to Brock's lawsuit by denying that he “committed any ‘acts of blackmail.’"

“Brock’s bitter legal battle with Grey, who is described in a Sept. 14, 2010, police report...as his domestic partner of more than 10 years, began after Brock began dating Washington, D.C., restaurant impresario James Alefantis about five years ago,” Fox News reports.

Brock and Alefantis (Photo Courtesy: Washington Life)

“For the next three years, Brock and Grey traded angry accusations, which were documented in the police report and were the foundation of a pitched legal battle replete with charges of blackmail, theft and financial malfeasance,” the report adds.

So what pushed Grey to finally threaten to "expose" the Media Matters CEO?

Apparently, according to a civil suit filed by Grey, Brock had taken $170,000 in possessions, including, but we assume not limited to, an $8,000 Louis Vuitton suit bag, paintings, a rug, a chandelier, a painted bust of a Roman soldier, and a couple of wooden chairs.

“Brock took Grey’s threats seriously and called police in 2010. In the police report, filed by Metropolitan Police as a stalking incident, Brock accused Grey, also 49, of attempting to blackmail him with a series of emails threatening to 'release specific derogatory information about [Brock] and his organization to the press and donors that would be embarrassing to him and cause harm to the organization,'" Fox reports.

Among the "threatening" emails sent by Grey, one written in 2008 read: "Please finish this today so I don’t have to waste my time emailing anyone – Biden, Coulter, Carlson, Huffington, Drudge, Ingraham."

Almost two years later, Grey accused Brock of "financial malfeasance" and threatened to sabotage Brock's fundraising efforts.

"Next step is I contact all your donors and the IRS," Grey wrote in an email dated May 19, 2010. "This is going to stink for you if you do not resolve this now."

Brock claims that he made the payout to Grey "under duress."

"On March 8, 2011, Brock filed his own suit against Grey for more than $4 million, demanding Grey return the $850,000, plus pay millions more in punitive damages," Fox reports. "The two settled two months ago under terms that remain confidential."

Brock, as many Blaze readers know, has come under fire due to reports that his supposed non-profit website has allegedly been working with top Democrats — a blatant violation of its tax-exempt status. Perhaps Grey knew a little something about this. It would certainly explain why the Media Matters CEO (who makes $300,000 a year) was willing to sell his vacation home and dish out $850,000 to make it all go away.

Read the full report here.