- The Lincoln Project has stayed silent on allegations of sexual misconduct against one of its co-founders, John Weaver.
- The organization has scrubbed references to him from its team page but has not addressed the allegations after numerous requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
- Journalist Ryan Girdusky announced earlier this week that multiple young men sent him screenshots of allegedly predatory messages from Weaver. Girdusky said the messages showed that Weaver committed “predatory actions” and groomed young men.
The Lincoln Project has not commented on allegations of sexual misconduct against one of its cofounders, though the organization has scrubbed some references to him from its website.
Conservative writer Ryan Girdusky announced Jan. 9 that multiple young men had sent him screenshots of allegedly predatory messages from Lincoln Project cofounder John Weaver. The Lincoln Project cofounder formerly worked for former presidential candidate John McCain’s campaigns and on former Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s presidential campaign.
Maybe I should start talking about one of the founding members of the Lincoln Project offering jobs to young men in exchange for sex… his wife is probably interested https://t.co/vAtUS9aPPl
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) January 9, 2021
Girdusky, a Lincoln Project critic, followed up this announcement with a story in The American Conservative describing Weaver’s alleged “predatory actions” and alleged grooming of young men. (RELATED: The Lincoln Project Appears To Scrub Team Page After Allegations That Co-Founder Offered Jobs In Exchange For Sex)
“As they continue to grift and target private citizens who worked for the administration, it’s important to point out that one of their founding members was using their organization and the promise of a job in politics to prey on young men,” Girdusky wrote of the Lincoln Project. “The question remains, though, of how many other founding members knew about it and were complicit.”
Weaver has not publicly denied the allegations. The Lincoln Project has also not addressed the allegations, despite many requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation beginning Jan. 11.
“You will have to reach out to John directly about that,” Lincoln Project’s communications advisor Ryan Wiggins told the DCNF Jan. 11. He did not answer further inquiries asking The Lincoln Project to address the allegations.
Weaver similarly did not answer the DCNF’s phone calls or emailed requests for comment. (RELATED: Young Americans for Liberty Fires President Amid Allegations Of Sexual Misconduct)
An archive of the Lincoln Project’s “Our Team” page shows that Weaver was listed on the page as of Jan. 11, but a search for the page shows that the “Our Team” page no longer exists. The Lincoln Project did not respond to the Daily Caller or the DCNF’s requests for comment regarding the removal of the page.
One man whose identity Girdusky kept anonymous reportedly said he communicated with a number of young men who Weaver solicited for jobs before allegedly propositioning “them for sex as part of the offer.” Girdusky wrote that Weaver would demand sexual intercourse, which was consensual, but then Weaver would not make good on the job offer.
Girdusky also wrote that another anonymous young man said that Weaver reached out to him promising a job opportunity and would call the young man “my boy” — a phrase corroborated by Forensic News reporter Scott Stedman.
Stedman reviewed messages from over a dozen young men between 19 and 26-years-old who alleged that Weaver sent them “uncomfortable and sometimes sexually explicit messages” after they originally connected with him in a professional capacity, Forensic News reported. The young men were recent college graduates or were still in college, Stedman wrote, and were looking for political jobs.
Some of these men responded and engaged Weaver in “sexually-charged conversations,” Stedman said. He also reported that Weaver would dangle his political connections to try and gain sexual favors, often initiating contact through direct messages on Twitter and later through phone calls or by paying for travel.
“The crux of the complaints levied by the men is that Weaver used his position of power to exploit them as they were beginning their careers,” the Forensic News reporter wrote.
Stedman, who described receiving sexually aggressive messages from the Lincoln Project co-founder himself, also reported that Weaver “flew political ambitious men to his location for massages and offered jobs in exchange for sexual relations.”
“Good morning, my boy,” Weaver allegedly said in a message to Stedman. “Your new hair color is hot! Keep it that way!! Look…smart, clever, handsome, hot…you have it all.”
Weaver allegedly also offered Stedman a “joint venture” and asked to speak to him on the phone multiple times. Stedman wrote that he declined to speak with Weaver over the phone.
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