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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAP: LP knew about Weaver's problems back in June 2020. They & their outside counsel were told.
It seems the Lincoln Project founders lied about what they knew and when they knew it. The LP knew about Weaver's problems back in June 2020. Expect lawsuits. Many lawsuits.
This news article is from the AP, not some conservative blog hit piece.
WASHINGTON (AP) Last June, the Lincoln Project was on a high.
Led by several prominent former Republican consultants, its slickly produced ads attacking President Donald Trump made it perhaps the best known of the so-called Never Trump organizations. The group tried to claim a higher moral ground in an effort to purge Trump from the GOP. Money flowed in by the tens of millions of dollars from donors eager to help.
But within the organization, a crisis was brewing.
In June 2020, members of the organizations leadership were informed in writing and in subsequent phone calls of at least 10 specific allegations of harassment against co-founder John Weaver, including two involving Lincoln Project employees, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the situation. The email and phone calls raise questions about the Lincoln Projects statement last month that it was shocked when accusations surfaced publicly this year. Its also the first known suggestion that Weaver targeted a Lincoln Project staffer.
Despite the early warning, the group took no action against Weaver and pressed forward with its high-profile work. For the collection of GOP consultants and former officials, being anti-Trump was becoming very good for business. Of the $90 million Lincoln Project has raised, more than $50 million has gone to firms controlled by the groups leaders.
More: https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-b14be5f06588b8f1d78125d4141394cb
The other bombshell is the money issue which main stream media has stayed away from until now.
I know that people here love the work the Lincoln Project does. I understand and did as well, but we don't need to ignore the facts as reported in this article.
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)That leaves tens of millions of dollars that went toward expenses like production costs, overhead and exorbitant consulting fees collected by members of the group.
It raises questions about where the rest of the money ultimately went, said Brendan Fischer, an attorney with the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington. Generally speaking, youd expect to see a major super PAC spend a majority or more of their money on advertisements and thats not what happened here.
The vast majority of the cash was split among consulting firms controlled by its founders, including about $27 million paid to a small firm controlled by Galen and another $21 million paid to a boutique firm run by former Lincoln Project member Ron Steslow, campaign finance disclosures show.
But in many cases its difficult to tell how much members of the group were paid. Thats because the Lincoln Project adopted a strategy, much like the Trump campaign they criticized, to mask how much money they earned.
DeminPennswoods
(15,286 posts)who did campaign ads, were campaign consultants and strategists. Why wouldn't they use the expertise of their own firms or themselves? I would've expected them to raise money to pay for themselves and their work.
soothsayer
(38,601 posts)MelissaB
(16,420 posts)It's dirty.
demmiblue
(36,865 posts)he basically intimated that there was no way that they didn't know as it was common knowledge. Welp, he was proven right.
They certainly are raking it in!
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)read things they don't like. Liberals (like me) really like LP and don't like reading negative things about them.
demmiblue
(36,865 posts)I prefer truth and transparency, even if it means I could potentially be disappointed.
Gore1FL
(21,132 posts)Ride the wave of facts. They take you where you need going.
brewens
(13,596 posts)knows who the crooks and and perverts are. Weaver, Hastert, Larry Craig, Gym Jordan and numerous others. They always know.
OnDoutside
(19,962 posts)There is no evidence that the Lincoln Project buried the allegations against Weaver for business reasons.
While the AP has not seen the email, its contents were confirmed by four people who had directly seen it.
So this hit piece is based on something the reporter has not seen, where as normally a reporter would at least have sight of, but not get a copy. Dodgy ground.
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)2. If the email proves to be wrong I'd expect the AP to post a statement saying as much. I doubt the AP would have gone to print with an article like this unless their sources are solid.
OnDoutside
(19,962 posts)The reporter hasn't seen the email, only relying on hearsay. Who was it sent from, who was it sent to ? What proof do they have that it was shown to a wider audience ? It doesn't fit with what TLP came out and said last week, if they knew this email was out there. That's why this has a whiff about it. It's reminiscent of a John Soloman hit piece and a guy in the Washington Post (Erik something).
octoberlib
(14,971 posts)BannonsLiver
(16,396 posts)Iggo
(47,558 posts)intheflow
(28,477 posts)The Lincoln Project is the "leftist" arm of the GOP (Generators of Propaganda). Advertising is their thing, they've just evolved since Gingrich's direct mail campaigns. This shocks so many on the left because when it came to Trump (and Trumpers), they were actually telling the truth. But I'm sure it's a one-off because these guys are the party of Reagan and the Bushes.* And that party is toxic and conservative AF.
*Reagan and the Bushes would be my punk band name, if I were ever to start one.
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)Link to tweet
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)Link to tweet
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)Link to tweet
Link to tweet
Link to tweet
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)MelissaB
(16,420 posts)MelissaB
(16,420 posts)Link to tweet
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)Vivienne235729
(3,384 posts)Of stuff like this bc it makes me think this is a hit job. TLP is exceptionally talented and successful in what they do. I wouldnt be surprised to find out bannon or stones fingerprints on this. But again, they ARE republicans and I cant imagine anyone confusing them for angels.
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)Link to tweet
Link to tweet
Link to tweet
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)Link to tweet
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)to tweet private DMs
Don't be surprised if they lose their twitter account because of this.
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,357 posts)MelissaB
(16,420 posts)MelissaB
(16,420 posts)Im told that @NHJennifer did not have a laptop or phone issued by the Lincoln Project.
It is unclear how they accessed her direct messages in order to tweet them.
It wouldnt have been through a company issued phone or laptop and she did not give them consent
Link to tweet
spooky3
(34,458 posts)A full investigation.
My pre-judgment is that I suspect LP turned a blind eye to sexual harassment allegations, because thats sadly too common.
But the allegations of mishandling $? The details are too vague in the article. This is a PAC, right? Arent rules different for them? And what does it mean to say LP spent $x on advertising? Is that just for placing ads? The videos they produce cost time and money to create, and these guys consulting firms may do the design and production, because they make their living in PR. So if a lot of the $ flowed through for that, and there arent other problematic expenses, I have no problems with Steve et al collecting big $.
Heres a NYTimes story: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/us/politics/lincoln-project-john-weaver.amp.html
There is no info in the NYTimes article about the spending allegations. There is info about LPs knowing earlier about Weavers alleged misconduct and lying about Horn.
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)Link to tweet
Scoop: Lincoln Project co-founder resigns
Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt is resigning from the group's board amid a series of scandals that has rocked the high-dollar anti-Trump super PAC, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Schmidt, a veteran Republican operative, is the latest and most high-profile departure from the group, which is reeling from revelations that another co-founder, John Weaver, used offers of professional advancement in a series of attempts to solicit sex from young men.
https://www.axios.com/lincoln-project-co-founder-resigns-ad554687-f2d1-4b7c-ac0c-5aa555fb312f.html
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)Sewa
(1,256 posts)MelissaB
(16,420 posts)I don't make the news, I just thread it.
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)Link to tweet
1. I've been very hesitant to comment but since my deceased father keeps getting invoked I will say this:
John Weaver and Steve Schmidt were so despised by my Dad he made it a point to ban them from his funeral. Since 2008, no McCain would have spit on them if they were on fire.
2. My heart goes out to the victims of John Weaver, it's abhorrent and evil - everyone who knew that this was going on deserves to be held accountable. I hope that anyone who covered up for this never works in politics ever again.
3. What disgusts me so much is that anyone who would engage in such awful and potentially illegal behavior would use their media associations with my father to gain opportunities. My dad was betrayed by you, hated you for it, and we all know it.
JI7
(89,252 posts)She should look in the mirror.
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)This comes a day after the PAC issued a statement saying anyone who wished to be released to talk freely about Weaver should contact them for a release
Link to tweet
Just_Vote_Dem
(2,808 posts)It is most appreciated
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)and things are usually spread out on different threads on DU. I'm not sure that would have been the case here this time because it wasn't really being posted about this time.
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)MelissaB
(16,420 posts)Interviews with nearly two dozen people with knowledge of the groups workings reveal a culture of infighting, sexist language and disparate treatment.
... snip
The accusations have roiled the organization, and as its current and former employees and contractors began coming forward to discuss them, they described a workplace where women in key positions were sidelined and where sexist and homophobic language was used by those in leadership posts.
... snip
A three-person board Galen, Madrid and Steslow was created without input from some of the other co-founders. Eventually, disputes over that board, and its scope, led to bitter infighting that involved individual co-founders lawyering up and threatening one another with oppo research, Washington speak for the type of negative information amassed by a political campaign or organization to use against a rival.
... snip
A frequent quip from Schmidt overheard by multiple people was that the Lincoln Project was his vehicle to achieve generational wealth.
... snip
Young men were wizards while young women were girls. Political rivals were pussies or cocksuckers or faggots. By the time the staff convened in Park City, the situation had become so toxic, according to more than a dozen accounts, that at least two co-founders, neither of whom remain at the project, had tried unsuccessfully to intervene to improve working conditions.
More: https://19thnews.org/2021/02/lincoln-project-toxic-workplace/
They threatened EACH OTHER with oppo research. But keep in mind that they really had NO IDEA that a person in their main group was a notorious twink chaser and maybe even a pedophile. Spare me...
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)come clean.
An investigation is necessary. But it has to be thorough, and not a whitewash. AndTHE LYING HAS TO STOP. It's clear now that, as early last *MARCH*, the people who were in operational control of the Lincoln Project ...
... were told of Weaver's predations. Enough is enough. LP needs to waive the NDAs and come clean.
Link to tweet