Lincoln Project Co-Found Steve Schmidt 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.
Schmidt, a veteran Republican operative from the Bush-Cheney era, 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.
The allegations against Weaver have subsumed the Lincoln Project in
recent weeks. At least 21 men have said that Weaver sent them sexually
suggestive messages over Twitter and, in some cases, offered
professional help in exchange for sex. Those messages, according to The New York Times,
"did not lead to physical encounters except in one consensual case, and
none of the men accused Mr. Weaver of unlawful conduct. Rather, many of
them described feeling preyed upon by an influential older man in the
field in which they wanted to work, and believing they had to engage
with his repeated messaging or lose a professional opportunity."
In
earlier statements about the allegations against Weaver, the Lincoln
Project insisted that its founders were unaware of any improper behavior
until quite recently. In a brash statement
released after his actions were first reported, the group denounced
Weaver as "a predator, a liar, and an abuser," while also claiming, "The
totality of his deceptions are beyond anything any of us could have
imagined and we are absolutely shocked and sickened by it. Like so many,
we have been betrayed and deceived by John Weaver. We are grateful
beyond words that at no time was John Weaver in the physical presence of
any member of The Lincoln Project."
But subsequent reporting
has strongly suggested that the group's founders were aware of the
allegations for months and that they were an "open secret" for much of
2020. Nevertheless, according to reporting from New York,
the Lincoln Project continued to hire interns recommended by Weaver,
even "after receiving a warning he would dangle job opportunities to
potential victims." Several former Lincoln Project employees have now asked to be released from
nondisclosure agreements so they can speak openly about Weaver's
conduct.
Ron Steslow, Mike Madrid, and George Conway, all board members, have
left in recent months. Jennifer Horn, a co-founder, announced she was
leaving in the wake of the revelations about Weaver. "When I spoke to
one of the founders to raise my objections and concerns, I was yelled
at, demeaned, and lied to," Horn said in a statement on Thursday.
The Lincoln Project has responded by repeatedly
attacking Horn's character. First, the group released a statement saying
she was lying about trying to rein in Weaver and that, actually, she
was out to get the organization over a financial dispute. Horn had
demanded "an immediate 'signing bonus' payment of $250,000 and a
$40,000-per-month consulting contract," as well as a television show, a
podcast, and "a staff to manage these endeavors," the company said.
Then, on Thursday, the group publicly released on Twitter direct messages between Horn and a reporter, in an attempt
to discredit a story the reporter was working on. The posts have since
been taken down, but it's still unclear how the messages were acquired.
Horn tweeted that evening that she did not give the group consent to
release them.
Concerns about the group's finances have also
resurfaced. The Lincoln Project showered firms owned by its co-founders
with tens of millions of dollars, with $45 million spent at two
advertising companies owned by Steslow and Steve Schmidt alone. More and
more, it seems like the founders of the Lincoln Project grew
spectacularly rich while ignoring serious harassment complaints against
one of their own. Pressed about the group's finances, Schmidt released a Trumpian whataboutist statement,
saying, "The Lincoln Project will be delighted to open its books for
audit immediately after the Trump campaign and all affiliated super PACs
do so, explaining the cash flow of the nearly $700 million that flowed
through their organizations controlled by Brad Parscale and Jared
Kushner."
The fate of the group's other projects is
uncertain, though it seems unlikely that it will soon be cranking out
television shows and books. United Talent Agency did not return a
request for comment about the status of its work with the Lincoln
Project.