A group of high-profile never-Trumpers known as The Lincoln Project has come under scrutiny, not only for the failure of the organization’s mission, credible allegations of coercing young men into having gay sex with one of the founder in exchange for jobs in politics, but also for the fact that over half the money they raised – roughly $45 million – was directed to the companies owned by the principals.
The Lincoln Project, an organization plagued with controversy including the revelation that one of its founders is a pedophile, took in close to $90 million during the 2020 General Election for a campaign tasked to defeat former-President Trump. Of that $90 million, roughly $45 million went to the companies owned by the principal partners of the group.
Campaign records show that approximately one-third of the money raised by the super PAC, close to $27 million, paid for advertising campaigns that aired during the 2020 campaign.
Drowning in scandal, the Lincoln Project faces accusations of grift, covering up sex abuse, and potentially breaking the law https://t.co/59VXjWVD3G
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) February 13, 2021
The vast majority of the money raised, however, was spent on consulting fees to firms ultimately controlled by its founders. This includes roughly $27 million paid to a small consulting firm controlled by Reed Galen, and another $21 million paid to another small firm run by former project member Ron Steslow.
The math of it all leads to questions regarding financial malfeasance.
“It raises questions about where the rest of the money ultimately went,” Brendan Fischer, an attorney with the non-partisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington, said. “Generally speaking, you’d expect to see a major super PAC spend a majority or more of their money on advertisements and that’s not what happened here.”
Lincoln Project Fundraising Page Down After $90 Million Grift Unravels https://t.co/K1VM68avMG
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 15, 2021
Several high-profile Washington, DC, insiders launched The Lincoln Project in November of 2019. The organization was formed as a super PAC, allowing its development personnel to raise and spend unlimited sums of money under the law.
Its founders include: Steve Schmidt and Reed Galen, who both served as advisers to John McCain; conservative attorney George Conway, the husband of former-senior advisor to President Trump Kellyanne Conway; former New Hampshire GOP chair Jennifer Horn; Florida-based veteran political advertisement maker Rick Wilson; and John Weaver, a long-time advisor to former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who also worked extensively with Sen. John McCain before his death.
“We fully comply with the law. The Lincoln Project will be delighted to open its books for audit immediately after the Trump campaign and all affiliated super PACs do so,” Schmidt said deflecting to point the same unfounded finger of conspiracy at the Trump campaign as they did during the election cycle.
So it turns out The Lincoln Project was full of garbage people running a politically convenient and lucrative grift.
Who, oh who, could have possibly seen this coming? 🤔 https://t.co/DA8GMUJou5
— Lauren Chen (@TheLaurenChen) February 12, 2021
The Lincoln Project co-founder John Weaver has been outed as a potential pedophile, sexually approaching and in some cases harassing young boys as young as 14 years of age.
New information exposes the fact that Lincoln Project board members were aware of a litany of complaints against Weaver dating back to June of 2020 but refrained from addressing the issue both publicly and privately.