The Lincoln project was plunged into even deeper turmoil on Thursday, with the anti-Trump group tapping an outsider to investigate the handling of sexual misconduct allegations against a co-founder, and former employees demanding to be released from nondisclosure agreements.
The organization sparked the flames by tweeting what appeared to be private messages between a co-founder who left in a spiteful split and a journalist hoping to interview her. The Lincoln Project later deleted the tweet – which was cited by the ex-employees as an example of retaliation.
Controversy boiled hours after reports that leaders of The Lincoln Project were aware of sexual harassment allegations against co-founder John Weaver last summer, before going public in January. (Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson is a Daily Beast columnist and co-host of the podcast, The new abnormal.)
More than 20 men have accused Weaver of sending unsolicited sexual messages, and some claim he tried to trade his connections for sex; one was a minor when Weaver started communicating. Weaver, who is married with two children, admitted his behavior was “inappropriate” but said he thought all interactions were consensual.
Weaver resigned, but the charges didn’t stop there. Last weekend, co-founder Jennifer Horn stepped down, citing what she said was Weaver’s “grotesque and inappropriate behavior” and “long-term deceptions.” The group responded by claiming it left after making financial demands, including a $ 250,000 signing bonus.
On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that Lincoln Project leaders learned of allegations against Weaver in the summer after payroll clerk sent an email to co-founder Ron Steslow – who then reportedly shared it with corporate attorney Matthew Sanderson and other key figures, and advocated for Weaver. are removed from the organization.
Hours later, the group announced that it had hired a “ best-in-class outside professional ” to review the claims about Weaver’s abuse and what the Lincoln Project leaders knew and when they knew.
The group said in a statement that the stories about it were “full of inaccuracies and misinformation,” but admitted in the same breath, “There is a central truth in all those stories that must be reckoned with and that is John’s horrible behavior. Weaver and the abuse he inflicted on people. “
It ended the statement by saying that any employee bound by a nondisclosure agreement to withhold information about Weaver could request an exemption from such a contract.
Then according to The New York Times, several former employees went public to demand that the group’s leadership release them from nondisclosure agreements so they could speak out about “harassment perpetrated by John Weaver that we have experienced or witnessed” or to obtain other information providing “specific to the John Weaver harassment situation that would help the press, the public and our donors….
The anonymous former employees called it “absurd, unreasonable and insensitive” for the group to simply contact “the organization accused of protecting the predator in question” to ask those seeking release of their nondisclosure agreement.
In addition, given the Associated Press and New York Magazine reports on Feb. 11 that we have no confidence in the organization’s remaining leadership to properly handle our allegations of (or knowledge of) sexual harassment and assault by John Weaver, ”the letter said.
Perhaps most devastatingly, the former executives said it was co-founder Steve Schmidt’s “recent public conduct” that forced them to go public because they “don’t feel safe” dealing with the group’s leadership privately. to go.
They referenced The Lincoln Project’s tweet with screenshots of an alleged Twitter direct-message conversation between Horn, one of the organization’s founders, and Amanda Becker, a reporter for political news site The 19th.
After accusing Becker of “publishing a defamation with Horn’s help,” the group removed the tweets (though they remain available through the Internet archive
The 19th’s co-founder and CEO Emily Radshaw said the outlet had sent the Lincoln Project a list of questions for Becker’s story just before the group tweeted the screenshots. Radshaw wrote, “We will not be bullied or intimidated for pursuing critical journalism.”