Headless Libertarian Party Seeks Direction in Wake of Resignations
With the resignation of Angela McArdle after evidence of fraud and embezzlement came out, the Libertarian National Committee has no Chair or Vice Chair at the beginning of Trump's second term.
Dear Friends,
In case you missed it on January 21, Jake Porter released an exclusive investigation showing evidence that Angela McArdle conspired with her domestic partner Austin Padgett to embezzle over $45,000 from the Libertarian National Committee through a shell company called Freedom Calls LLC.
These new revelations were on top of previous evidence that Angela McArdle had conspired with Donald Trump to violate the Libertarian Party bylaws and subvert party resources to benefit the Republican candidate for Presidentover the candidate that Libertarian Party delegates nominated at their national convention, Chase Oliver. The New York Times has a story about that shady backroom dealmaking that includes Angela McArdle’s words in defense of her illegal activities.
LNC Treasurer Bill Redpath, a former national Chair himself, sent a simple email to the rest of the board asking, “Is there anything in this story that is not correct?” with a link to Jake Porter’s reporting.
On January 23, confronted with evidence that could not be ignored, LNC member Travis Bost made a motion to form a committee to investigate allegations of misconduct against Angela McArdle. Bost and two of his co-sponsors, Adrian Malagon and Adam Haman, were all previously strong supporters of Angela McArdle and her efforts to divert Libertarian Party resources toward Donald Trump’s election.
In the wee hours of January 25, Angela McArdle sent an email announcing her resignation from the Libertarian National Committee. The tone was triumphal about her “new opportunity” and even included her recommendations for who should be chosen to fill her vacancy:
“I will continue to work closely with staff over the next few weeks to make sure we have strong successorship, brand identity, and a political strategy for the coming year. I will continue to support Michael Heise with his fundraising efforts for as long as I can, and would love to see him or Josiah Baker, the TN Chair, elevated to the board to fill vacancies.” -Angela McArdle
During this crisis, Stephen Nekhaila started a vote to place Jonathan McGee, a Mises Caucus loyalist, in the Vice Chair position that was left vacant when Mark Rutherford of Indiana resigned in December 2024. There was no public discussion or call for candidates to fill the position, with a group of Mises Caucus supporters hand picking someone from their own ranks.
Because the vote to fill the Vice Chair position is still pending and the Chair is vacant, the only two officers on the Libertarian National Committee are Secretary Caryn Ann Harlos and Treasurer Bill Redpath. Since there is a January 26 meeting called by former Chair Angela McArdle to investigate Caryn Ann Harlos scheduled for 7:00 pm on Zoom, Bill Redpath has ended up as acting Chair of the Libertarian Party.1
The derivative suits against Angela McArdle were moving into discovery that would have shown the extent to which she had conspired with the Trump campaign, Austin Padgett, RFK Jr., and state and national Libertarian Party leaders to divert funds away from the Libertarian National Committee and into their pockets. Her hasty resignation and the circling of the wagons by the remaining Mises Caucus members of the LNC create the appearance of a cover up.
The Libertarian Party has broken trust with its members and donors during the tenure of Angela McArdle, but she did not act alone. Her allies like Adrian Malagon engaged in vicious personal attacks against Caryn Ann Harlos and Best Vest for standing up against her corruption, only for him to immediately drop McArdle like a hot potato when the corruption was no longer deniable. Even now, McArdle is trying to install Mises Caucus founder Michael Heise to a position on the LNC.
It is crucial to regaining trust that an independent outside investigation be conducted to determine the full extent of what Angela McArdle did, how she did it, who she did it with, and how much it cost the Libertarian Party. The final report should recommend reforms to prevent this kind of fraud and theft from recurring and appropriate sanctions for those who were found to have conspired with any improper and illegal activities.
We don’t trust companies that don’t do audits and we won’t trust a Libertarian National Committee that doesn’t get a clean bill of health from an independent investigation.
If you agree, there is one simple thing you can do to help. Email entire.lnc@lp.org with your message calling for an independent investigation. This will let the entire board know what they can do to regain the trust of all of the Libertarian Party members and supporters who want the return of a real pro-freedom political party the attracts serious candidates like Justin Amash and not a refuge for grifters and MAGA cheerleaders.
Yours truly,
Nicholas Sarwark
former Chair, Libertarian National Committee (2014-2020)
P.S. There are just over $20K in legal fees outstanding for all of the great work that The Veritas Law Firm has done to get the derivative lawsuits past McArdle’s motions to dismiss. If you can help, please visit their direct payment page and put “LNC Derivative Suit” in the Reference field.