The Lincoln Project was created for one purpose: to enrich the political mercenaries who founded it. Anyone who thinks otherwise is either cashing the group’s checks themselves or lying deliberately for partisan reasons.
The Associated Press published a devastating report this week confirming as much. It details how Lincoln Project founder John Weaver exploited his position to harass dozens of young men sexually. When the “principled conservatives” at the project’s helm were informed of this abuse, not just once but several times, they did nothing and then lied about it when the allegations came to light.
This matters because the victims matter. But it also matters because the Lincoln Project and its band of bullies were handed a mainstream platform by Democrats and their allies in the media. They enabled and celebrated Rick Wilson, Steve Schmidt, George Conway, John Weaver, Michael Steele, and every single other person connected to this project, no matter how vile their tactics, because their goal was the same: to take down former President Donald Trump.
Wilson and Schmidt became MSNBC and CNN regulars. CBS News’s 60 Minutes aired a puff piece about the group. Time magazine praised the Lincoln Project for its “knack for quickly producing memorable videos and advertisements. The New Yorker wrote a glowing profile about the Lincoln Project’s “edgy tweets” (many of which were plagiarized, by the way). The Washingtonian called the Lincoln Project “one of the signature political groups of the 2020 race.” Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin even called the group’s founders “NeverTrump geniuses.”
Meanwhile, the Lincoln Project’s founders were busy covering up at least ten specific allegations of harassment against Weaver. Some of these allegations came from their own employees. Yet Schmidt, Wilson, and Reed Galen had no problem sitting next to Weaver during the 60 Minutes segment while they took turns lecturing the rest of the country about morality and civility.
But again, none of this should come as a surprise. This is the group that regularly doxed pro-Trump individuals, sent social media mobs after its critics, and threatened those who questioned its spending habits. While they complained about Trump’s bullish behavior, the Lincoln Project’s founders proved repeatedly that there was no such thing as too low — as long as they could keep the money flowing.
Just look at the way the Lincoln Project reacted to the Associated Press’s report. The group accused the outlet of lying and sent a mob after a different reporter who had been investigating the allegations against Weaver. The group then published several screenshots of messages between the reporter and a former Lincoln Project co-founder, neither of whom appear to have given the group consent to access those messages, let alone publish them.
1. Lincoln Project tweeted out a thread that appeared to contain screenshots from their former partner @NHJennifer‘s account
Unclear how they got access to them
These exchanges were with journalist @AmandaBecker
They have deleted the thread but here are screenshots
(Cont) pic.twitter.com/ddkbtFNlVg
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) February 12, 2021
This is what the Lincoln Project does: It lies its way into its donors’ wallets and bullies anyone who gets in its way. And the media let them do it.
The only reason the press is turning on the Lincoln Project now is because the group has outlived its use. A recent study by one of the Democratic Party’s leading Super PACs found that the Lincoln Project’s viral ads failed to persuade voters in crucial battleground states during the 2020 election. In fact, the only voter the group seems to have convinced is Schmidt, who recently made his conversion to the Democratic Party official after Democratic donors helped him buy a new mansion.
The Weaver scandal confirms the Lincoln Project was nothing more than an ugly grift, run by spineless men who speak of principles but have none themselves. Actually, I take that back. The Lincoln Project does have one principle: It’s to line its own pockets with money from donors stupid enough to believe Schmidt, Wilson, and the rest were ever capable of more than spiteful self-interest.
