Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt resigned from the anti-Trump media group just a day after he was singled out in an open letter from former employees accusing the group of abusing sexual harassment allegations against co-founder John Weaver. those who tried to speak.
Schmidt made the news late Friday in an explosive statement in which he revealed that he suffered sexual abuse as a 13-year-old child while at the Scout camp.
“John Weaver brought me back into that distant cabin” with an abuser, Schmidt wrote, insisting that he only heard of the allegations against Weaver in January, when it became public.
“I wish John Weaver was not a co-founder of the Lincoln project, but as hard as I want it to be true, I can not change that he was,” he wrote.
“I’m fiercely angry about it,” he continued. “I’m angry because I know the damage he’s done to me, and I know the journey ahead for every young man who is trusted, feared and abused by John Weaver.”
‘The Lincoln Project board currently consists of four middle-aged white men. The composition does not reflect our country or our movement. “I resign my seat on the Lincoln Project Board to make room for the appointment of a female board member as the first step in reforming and professionalizing the Lincoln Project,” he said.
Unrest engulfed the group following reports that the top leadership was already aware last summer of the allegations against co-founder John Weaver, long before the allegations became known in January. The political news website The 19th reported the same day as Schmidt’s statement that the allegations were an open secret in the group’s Park City office, even among junior staff during the November election, and that the senior leadership was known even earlier. Staff at the point of sale said the founders had created a toxic workplace with sexist and homophobic language.
Following the reports by the Associated Press, New york magazine, and The New York Times, Lincoln Project senior adviser Kurt Bardella and conservative commentator Tom Nichols, who served as unpaid adviser, announced their retirement from the group earlier Friday. CNBC also reports that several donors to the group are considering discontinuing all financial contributions pending the outcome of an external investigation.
Weaver is accused of sending unsolicited sexual messages to more than 20 men and trying to swap his connection for sex. He, meanwhile, resigned from the group, acknowledging that he was engaging in ‘inappropriate’ behavior, but said he believed the interaction was consistent. Rick Wilson, co-founder of Lincoln Project, is a columnist and podcast host for Daily Beast.)
However, the latest controversy has focused on dealing with the top leadership of the allegations against Weaver. As questions arose on Thursday about how much the group’s leadership knows about the allegations and when, the group announced that they had hired a ‘best non-professional person’ to address the allegations of Weaver’s abuse and handling. of Lincoln Project leaders to review it. The group also said that any employee bound by a non-disclosure agreement to withhold information about Weaver could request exemption from such a contract.
But just hours later, former employees claimed in an open letter, published by The New York Times, that they “do not feel safe” interact directly with the group’s leadership – especially since Schmidt ‘attacked’ and used a ‘public Twitter smear’ against Jennifer Horn, another co-founder who stepped down last week over which she described as Weaver’s ‘grotesque and inappropriate behavior’ and years of deception. After her comments, Horn was publicly accused by the group of fishing for a $ 250,000 bonus.
On Thursday night, it appears the group dived deeper into conflict with Horn. The Lincoln Project’s Twitter account posted a tweet containing screenshots of an alleged Twitter instant messaging conversation between Horn and Amanda Becker, a reporter for The 19th. The tweets were deleted after the Becker group accused him of ‘preparing to issue a smear’ with Horn as the source.
Schmidt accepted responsibility for the tweet on Friday: “That direct message should never have been made public. It is my job as a senior leader to take responsibility for the tremendous misjudgment of releasing it. ”
He also directly apologized to Horn and Becker.
“I let my anger turn a business dispute into a public war that resulted from the fight against American fascism,” he said, adding that Horn “deserves better from me.”