Lincoln Project accused of whitewash over probe of John Weaver claims

Critics blasted anti-Trump super PAC The Lincoln Project Tuesday after it announced the results of an investigation into its workplace culture following sexual harassment allegations against co-founder John Weaver.

In a memo to Lincoln Project supporters, adviser Tara Setmayer and executive director Fred Wellman wrote that the probe by law firm Paul Hastings LLP found no evidence any of the super PAC’s leaders knew of claims that Weaver sexually harassed teenage boys prior to the publication of news reports earlier this year.

Setmayer and Wellman wrote that the firm also found “no communications nor conduct reported to The Lincoln Project or its leadership involving Mr. Weaver and any employee, contractor, or volunteer that would rise to the level of actionable sexual harassment.”

Reporters who have covered the story for months said the group had not addressed the heart of the claims against Weaver, a former campaign adviser for the late Sen. John McCain and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

“The Lincoln Project independent investigation did NOT state if the group’s leadership were aware of any allegations of misconduct against Weaver before January 2021,” tweeted Ryan Girdusky, who broke the story of the allegations against Weaver in The American Conservative. “Multiple reporters from many outlets concluded they did.”

Girdusky reported on Jan. 11 that Weaver had sent inappropriate text messages to young men. The New York Times followed up with a Jan. 31 report that claimed Weaver had been accused of harassment by 21 men — including one alleged victim who was a minor when Weaver first contacted him. (Girdusky later told Fox News he had made contact with another Weaver accuser who was underage.)

Following the publication of the Times report, The Lincoln Project turned its back on Weaver, blasting him as “a predator, a liar, and an abuser.”

The super PAC hired Paul Hastings LLP in February to conduct a probe of the alleged misconduct as part of a “comprehensive review of our operations and culture.” Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings indicated that several of the firm’s lawyers donated a total of more than $6,000 to the super PAC, leading critics to claim a conflict of interest.

Lincoln Project co-founder John Weaver with Sen. John McCain when he was the senator's presidential campaign advisor in 2000.
Lincoln Project co-founder John Weaver with Sen. John McCain when he was the senator’s presidential campaign advisor in 2000.
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

That same month, the website The 19th cited former Lincoln Project executive director Sarah Lenti in reporting that some of the group’s co-founders — including another former McCain adviser, Steve Schmidt — knew about allegations against Weaver as early as March of 2020. Separate reports by The Associated Press and New York magazine alleged Lincoln Project executives were told in June of 2020 about Weaver’s behavior.

Amanda Becker, the author of The 19th’s report, tweeted: “A 4-month investigation by a law firm whose attorneys donated to Lincoln Project has cleared co-founders of wrongdoing/knowledge of sexual harassment allegations, in direct refutation of timeline reported by myself & others.”

Becker went on to claim that after the publication of her initial report in February, “some at the Lincoln Project continued to take steps to try to stymy [sic] future reporting in a variety of ways. While I haven’t had reason to write about them since, never fear, should the need arise, I will.

“My question right now would be this,” Becker continued. “What is the definition of ‘actionable’ in this statement? If what they were told about as early as March 2020 was not ‘actionable’ sexual harassment, why the strong-armed tactics?”

“This Lincoln Project investigation is qualified so much it’s meaningless,” tweeted New York magazine’s Intelligencer news director Justin Miller. “Weaver harassed adult men, not just ‘underage’ males. ‘Actionable sexual harassment’ means ‘actionable to bring a legal claim’ only.”

The memo from Setmayer and Wellman concluded that The Lincoln Project had “identified areas for improvement as we evolve from a newly formed super PAC focused on defeating Donald Trump to a long-term organization upholding the principles of democracy.

“These include formalizing human resources, implementing trainings for staff and senior leadership, changes to the hiring and promotion process, and professionalizing management.”

The memo made no mention of allegations that co-founders of The Lincoln Project have used the super PAC as a vehicle to drive business to their own companies, paying off substantial debts in the process.

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