The Never Trumpers at the Lincoln Project scrambled to put out fires after one of their married founders was caught sending sexually explicit messages to young men.
21 men accused Lincoln Project co-founder John Weaver of online harassment, according to a report by the New York Times.
The youngest victim the New York Times spoke to was just 14 years old when John Weaver started messaging and grooming him.
21 men told me John Weaver, a Lincoln Project cofounder, sent them inappropriate messages, including explicit offers of professional help in exchange for sex. 11 of them spoke on the record — far more than I could detail in one article. w/ @dannyhakim https://t.co/agnfQZubW5
— Maggie Astor (@MaggieAstor) January 31, 2021
The New York Times says the evidence of Weaver’s online harassment is well documented and backed up by screenshots and ran between 2015-2020.
It was an open secret but the Lincoln Project is acting like they had no idea Weaver was grooming young men, including underage teen boys.
“One of the most extraordinary things was how much of an open secret this was among the men Weaver commonly targeted — young, gay men interested in politics. Three men told me they’d described the harassment to a friend and the friend guessed it was Weaver,” NYT reporter Maggie Astor said.
Rumors of John Weaver’s years of grooming young men was circulating social media for the last few weeks, but the Lincoln Project could no longer ignore the allegations once the New York Times published their report.
“John Weaver led a secret life that was built on a foundation of deception at every level. He is a predator, a liar, and an abuser. We extend our deepest sympathies to those who were targeted by his deplorable and predatory behavior. We are disgusted and outraged that someone in a position of power and trust would use it for these means,” the Lincoln Project said in a statement Sunday morning.
The Lincoln Project claimed they are “absolutely shocked and sickened” by Weaver’s behavior.
Who actually believes the Lincoln Project had no idea what John Weaver was doing all these years?
The Lincoln Project today released the following statement. pic.twitter.com/k9QkUsiFO5
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) January 31, 2021
John Weaver released a statement in response to the allegations and said he believed the messages he was sending back and forth to the young men were “consensual.”
It was an open secret but the Lincoln Project is acting like they had no idea Weaver was grooming young men, including underage teen boys.
“One of the most extraordinary things was how much of an open secret this was among the men Weaver commonly targeted — young, gay men interested in politics. Three men told me they’d described the harassment to a friend and the friend guessed it was Weaver,” NYT reporter Maggie Astor said.
In June 2020, members of the organization’s 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 Project’s statement last month that it was “shocked” when accusations surfaced publicly this year. It’s 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 group’s leaders.
There is no evidence that the Lincoln Project buried the allegations against Weaver for business reasons. But taken together, the harassment allegations and new revelations about spending practices raise significant questions about the management of one of the highest-profile antagonists of Trump. The revelations threaten the stature of not just the Lincoln Project but the broader coalition of establishment-oriented Republican groups hoping to pool their resources to excise Trump from the party.
Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt insisted that he and the rest of the group’s leadership were not aware of any internal allegations of wrongdoing involving Weaver. He lied. They all lied. They knew and they covered it up because they only care about money and power.
It didn’t take long for far-left Wikipedia to do damage control.
Wikipedia locked John Weaver’s page immediately after the report on him grooming young men broke.
Wikipedia goes into full damage control to protect the Lincoln Project pedophile John Weaver
The page is locked and no information can be added. pic.twitter.com/dETCFit3H3
— Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) January 31, 2021
Trump-hater and wife abuser George Conway tried to tell MSNBC that he didn’t know John Weaver very well. He lied…1
Here’s George Conway lying on national TV saying he didn’t know fellow co-founder of The Lincoln Project very well. In a related story, here’s a NY Times op-Ed he collaborated with Weaver on that Conway heavily promoted and touted. Utterly laughable. https://t.co/UGzcGQhJUu https://t.co/C8o4vlnVxn
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) February 1, 2021
Establishment media outlets CBS News and NBC News failed to cover the damning allegations lodged against one of the Lincoln Project’s cofounders, who was accused of sending unsolicited and provocative messages to young men, during their evening broadcasts on Monday, according to a report from NewsBusters.
Sources:
- https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/01/never-trump-lincoln-project-co-founder-john-weaver-busted-grooming-underage-teen-boys-lincoln-project-responds/
- https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/01/wikipedia-damage-control-locks-page-never-trumper-caught-grooming-underage-boys/
- https://noqreport.com/2021/02/11/nevertrump-lincoln-project-top-brass-knew-of-john-weavers-allegations-last-june/
