NEW YORK (AP) – The Lincoln project, one of the most well-known and best-funded organizations in the so-called Never Trump movement, announced plans late Thursday to launch an external inquiry into the term of office of a co-founder sexual harassment.
The announcement comes hours after The Associated Press reported that members of the organization’s leadership were informed in writing and in subsequent calls of at least ten specific allegations of sexual harassment against co-founder John Weaver, including two involving employees of Lincoln Project. The revelations raised questions about the Lincoln Project’s statement last month that it was ‘shocked’ when accusations surfaced in public this year.
In a statement released Thursday night, the organization announced that its board of directors had decided to retain “a ‘best non-professional person’ ‘to assess Weaver’s term of office” for both accountability and best practices for The Lincoln Project. to determine.’
The organization also encouraged everyone to be bound by a non-disclosure agreement to contact the Lincoln Project for a release.
The situation threatens the stature of not only the Lincoln project, but also the broader coalition of established-oriented Republican groups working to cut Trump out of the party.
Lincoln Project founder Steve Schmidt insisted Wednesday night that he and the rest of the group’s leadership were unaware of any internal allegations made by Weaver.
“The Lincoln Project believes that the members of our movement and the victims of John Weaver’s despicable and deceptive behavior owe the facts, and you will have them,” the organization said in a written statement Thursday night. “John Weaver has betrayed us all and you deserve the facts presented through a transparent process independently.”
Weaver declined to comment on the AP’s earlier story, but in a statement released to Axios late last month, he acknowledged misconduct and apologized.
“I was uncomfortable with the men through my messages, which I considered to be mutual conversations at the time: I’m really sorry,” he wrote. “They were inappropriate and it was because of my shortcomings that you caused this discomfort.”