On Tuesday, A Co-founder of anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project said he supported the group being dissolved as the scandals and controversies continue to mount for the conservative never-Trump activists, according to a report from Fox News.
George Conway, husband of Trump aide Kellyanne Conway, left the organization last August, responded to a tweet by Kurt Bardella, who served as Lincoln Project senior adviser before announcing his resignation last week. Bardella’s tweet says, “Just shut it down already … it’s over”
Bardella was tweeting in response to a report by 19th News that multiple Lincoln Project leaders knew about sexual harassment allegations against another co-founder, John Weaver, as far back as March of 2020.
Conway responded by defending what he sees as the good work the group did in helping get Trump out of office, but admitted it’s time for it to end:
“It’s a shame, and we shouldn’t forget the hard work of so many people and the positive things the organization did, but yes, I think this is right.”
Earlier on Monday, Conway said that an investigation into the group should be “thorough” and “not a whitewash:”
“THE LYING HAS TO STOP. It’s clear now that, as early last *MARCH*, the people who were in operational control of the Lincoln Project were told of Weaver’s predations. Enough is enough. LP needs to waive the NDAs and come clean.”
After the sexual misconduct allegations against Weaver surfaced in January, Conway told MSNBC that he had no prior knowledge and claimed he didn’t know Weaver well.
The report from 19th News report continued by claiming that leaders of the group knew about the allegations for some time:
“Sarah Lenti, a managing partner with the group who was previously its executive director, knew about the allegations against Weaver as early as May 2020. Lenti confirmed that some of the group’s co-founders knew about the allegations as early as March 2020. [Steve] Schmidt and [Reed] Galen were among those who knew, multiple sources said.”
Several members of the leadership at The Lincoln Project, including co-founders Schmidt and Jennifer Horn have resigned in the aftermath of the revelations.
This coming after, on Sunday, the Lincoln Project issued a statement on Twitter that condemned its co-founder John Weaver.
The PAC’s statement comes on the heels of reports that Weaver has been accused of sexually harassing at least 21 men. The accusations go back several years.
Before helping to co-found the Lincoln Project, which is a Republican anti-Trump Pac, Weaver was an advisor to former presidential candidate John McCain and John Kasich.
“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,” the Lincoln Project wrote in a statement released on Sunday.
“We are disgusted and outraged that someone in a position of power and trust would use it for these means.
“The totality of his deceptions are beyond anything that any of us could have imagined and we are absolutely shocked and sickened by it,” the statement continued.
“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.”
According to a report by the New York Times at least 21 men have made sexual misconduct allegations against Weaver. The men say that they received unsolicited messages from Weaver that contained provocative or explicitly sexual advances.
Reportedly some of the men were teenagers when the harassment began. In several cases, Weaver offered career opportunities in exchange for sexual favors.
“Help you other times. Give advice, counsel, help with bills. You help me … sensually,” weaver wrote to one individual according to the Times.
In another case, Weaver propositioned a boy when he was 14 years old. He asked him questions about his body and the situation escalated when he turned 18.
Cole Trickle Miele, now 19, says that Weaver followed him on Twitter and five years ago sent him a message.
‘I remember being a 14-year-old kid interested in politics and being semi-starstruck by John Weaver engaging in a conversation with me,’ Trickle Miele said.
He shares that in the beginning, the communication between them did not seem strange, but as time passed the messages became more personal.
In June of 2018, Weaver asked Trickle Miele: “Are you in HS [high school] still?”
He responded that he was and would not be 18 until next spring replied, “You look older. You’ve gotten taller.”
In March of 2020, after Trickle Miele turned 18, Weaver messaged him. “I want to come to Vegas and take you to dinner and drinks and spoil you!!”
In another message, he asked questions about the teen’s body. “Hey, my boy! resend me your stats! or I can guess! if that is easier or more fun!”
Kyle Allen, 23, another accuser, said Weaver posed similar questions to him beginning in 2016 and ending in 2018. He asked him about his height, weight, and whether he was circumcised.
Allen told the Times that Weaver also repeatedly expressed a desire to visit him at the University of Ottawa.
“I would try to veer the conversations toward politics, and he would always find a way to bring it back to sexual stuff,” Allen said.
Cody Bralts, another accuser, says he replied to one of Weaver’s tweets last year when he was looking for a job in politics after he had graduated college.
Bralts says Weaver then sent him a direct message. They struck up a conversation about politics, but Weaver quickly made the conversation more personal.
Weaver asked what he did in his free time Braits replied that he ran marathons. Weaver replied: “At least I know that whatever we end up doing, you could do it multiple times in a row” adding a wink emoji.
‘It just seemed like he was exploiting his power,” Bralts said. “He was someone very important and high up in a field I want to go into.”
The sexual harassment accusations first came to light earlier this month after individuals that were harassed by Weaver came forward and their accounts were published in American Conservative magazine.
As the reports surfaced, Weaver apologized for his “inappropriate” behavior. However, he went on to describe the interactions with the men as “consensual mutual conversations.”
He later confirmed that he would not be returning to the Lincoln Project following a medical leave he took back in the summer.
Leaders within the Lincoln Project told the Times that they were aware of possible extramarital relations on Weaver’s part before now, but believed them to be consensual.
Kasich’s office released a statement calling the sexual harassment allegations “unexpected” and “extremely disappointing.”
“These allegations caught us by complete surprise as we had not seen any evidence of this behavior while he was working with us,” the statement read. “While [Weaver] has not been with our organization for quite some time, we are extremely disappointed by what we have learned.”
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