Lincoln Project disavows cofounder John Weaver after allegations he made unsolicited sexual overtures to young men

Yeah, they already knew about this and looked the other way.

I’m sure they suspected he was gay. I doubt they knew he was texting teenage boys. It wouldn’t be worth it, especially if there was evidence/ documentation that would implicate them.

He was texting boys? Last I heard he was texting 20- or 30-something gay men.

The Lincoln Project persons probably ignored the signs of impropriety just like like ignored overt racism in the GOP party since 2008.

There are pervs in every walk of life including Never Trumpers. You have no idea what your best friend is doing privately. TLP found out and handled it.

Oh, please, everyone knew that Weaver was trying to seduce young gay guys on Twitter with job offers; this includes enemies of the project. There is no way TLP only found out now.

That took them months.

The Lincoln Project founders were silent and even embraced the racism in the Republican Party during the Obama Administration era, that is until Trump emerged as president in 2016.

Young men? If this is about him hitting on guys 18+, then it’s nothing more than homophobia.

You know what to say to unsolicited sexual overtures?? No thanks. Fuck off. Eewww.

Yashar Ali:

EVERYONE knew for years what John was about.

The challenge was the young men wouldn’t talk to reporters even on background (which I understand, they feared retaliation).

But this was no secret. Everyone talked about it.

R9 You're dismissing it as nothing. Apparently he made it a condition of landing the job.

No one gives a fuck what Yashar Ali thinks.

R9 is right. There's even some confused dude above who talked about teenage boys. The press can't handle a dude being inappropriately horny for other dudes without bringing the specter of pederasty, even when this is not what the story is about.

R11, if he used his power and status to force young men into doing things they didn’t want to do, that isn’t nothing. Otherwise it IS nothing. Does it say in the article that he was pulling a Harvey Weinstein?

Allegedly he was trading questionable messages with a fourteen-year-old high school student, and sent more explicit messages when the young man turned eighteen. What most of the current articles leave out is that this was reported months ago, and TLP gave him the boot at that time. It is only now getting mainstream attention, but it's old news.

None of twenty-one men who have come forward allege any criminal behavior on Weaver's part, just unwanted advances. Not defending the asshole -just trying to keep the facts straight.

R15 Link for the first paragraph?

It's in OP's like, R16. Keep following the Twitter thread.

TLP had it's 15 minutes of fame and now Biden is POTUS. This is a really bad look for them and basically they're toast now from a reputation perspective. They might as well shut down, rebrand, rename and start again with new 'founders' . Because we need this type of resistance to the GOP for the midterms and beyond.

This does seem to confirm that people from The Lincoln Project read our website, correct?

Aren't most Republicans closet gays?

R19 Um, no. This exploded on Twitter WEEKS before Datalounge. I recall that I wanted to make a thread about the story here the night he was exposed on Twitter, but then fucking Muriel put on the website on primetime on the same day for what felt like forever. Datalounge was WAY behind in the story.

Trolls here trying to dislodge TLP because they are afraid of its effectiveness in accelerating the ruin of the MAGA-traitor-seditionist sect of the GOP.

R21 That's not what I meant, Mary. I meant that they're a bunch of bitchy gays in The Lincoln Project and they probably come here to read our political threads to use content for their ads. Several posters in the past have speculated on this. Now that it's confirmed that Weaver is gay, it's likely that he and/or his gay co-workers have perused our site in the past.

I read that one of the victims was 14 when the grooming began, but for the life of me I cannot remember where — I will dig.

I don’t believe TLP would enable a predator of children! If they thought he was just a hornet gay man (which I’m sure is exactly what they thought), I’m glad they treated him just like a straight — there is no crime in lust, it’s when you engage in unwanted advances, particularly in a power situation, that is the problem and actual crime.

I believe this because I used to be a teacher, and a coworker whom I was very close with did indeed sexually abuse students, and no one had a clue at all. It was shocking beyond belief, it took me two weeks to accept that my friend really did it (he admitted it in his suicide note). It is wrong to accuse people of enabling sexual predators when you don’t have all the facts. Parents in our community were accusing the teachers of KNOWING — um, no, we had no idea.

R23 Yawn, that's not likely at all.

Haha....omg....haha....couldn't happen to a more deserving group! Beautiful karma.

I had never heard of John Weaver so I googled him and found the linked article (among others). This says that the name of the 14 year old boy (who's now 20) is Trickle Miele?

Pics of any of the 'poor helpless survivors'? I need to know if their ugly enough to cancel this rancid right-winger...

John Weaver got off of Twitter a while back, supposedly because he had a heart attack.

I think that's when Project Lincoln found out and they told him to lay low. They probably knew it would come out eventually and wanted to put as much distance between them as possible.

I’m living for the name Trickle. Did his parents hope he would grow up to be a gay porn star?

[quote] Twenty-one men have accused Republican strategist John Weaver – a key adviser in ex-Ohio Gov. John Kasich's presidential bid – of sending sexually provocative messages

So what? Since when is that a "crime"? I couldn't care less about this guy, maybe he's a creep, but I thinkk R9 is right, this is subtle homophobia.

Was he married to a woman? His younger pictures show a wedding ring. When did he come out?

[quote]The Lincoln Project persons probably ignored the signs of impropriety just like like ignored overt racism in the GOP party since 2008.

Oh, honey, allow me to introduce you to the "southern strategy" which waaaaaay older than 2008.

Agreed R31. Seems like subtle homophobia.

If they were underage children then that is disgusting and it is pedophilia - but if they were just "young" guys then what's the problem apart from him having no chance and being a sleezebag? There aren't any details of ages that I can see with the story. What does "still in highschool" mean? In the state I live in the homosexual legal age of consent is 16. Yes it's gross that a lecherous old man would be trying it on with a much younger kid but if it's legal then what is this story about? That's he's a lecherous pig?

I am glad TLP released a strong statement, but they need to follow-up with another explaining why it took so long.

Repressed homosexuality is RIFE and ENDEMIC in the entire continuum of The GOP -- from the seditionist crazies to the constitution lovers. Of course this is because being gay has been antithetical to core GOP platforms for ages.

This is not news, or any kind of excuse. In fact, anyone who has a position of power in GOP related orgs is likely to have above average means and awareness to know EXACTLY what they are doing and, as such, are consciously choosing to be predatory and exploitive. Whether the targets are younger or older is NOT relevant except for additional charges. Lechery and exploitation is what it is.

They've known about this forever. They're only distancing themselves from him now because it's come out in the open. Karl Rove threw this accusation out there in 2004 and everyone just dismissed it. The only shame here is that the rest of the reich wing closet cases we've outed here don't face a similar reckoning. Would be a great way to clear DC of garbage.

[quote] Yashar Ali: EVERYONE knew for years what John was about.

Of course. And had this been a pro-Trump group CNN and MSNBC would have found a way to push the story. Now this guy and his friends are expendable.

[quote] ... being gay has been antithetical to core GOP platforms for ages.

R34, the only thing that being gay is "antithetical" to for the GOP are the "platforms" of religious bigots. The GOP traditionally stood for small government and fiscal conservatism, none of which is threatened by homosexuality. Barry Goldwater warned against letting the religious right take over the Republican Party but that's what's happened -- separation between church and state is all but gone, and it's the churches' values that abhor homosexuality.

[quote]The Lincoln Project is an American political action committee formed in late 2019 by a number of Republicans and former Republicans. During the 2020 presidential election, it aimed to prevent the re-election of Donald Trump and defeat all Republicans in close races running for re-election in the United States Senate

Funny how the cofounder of an organization with the purpose of preventing re-election of cheeto AND defeating senators in close races has such accusations raised.

Makes you wonder who is behind this.

R37 True, but the religious and culture war aspect of GOP platforms has been a hallmark of the party since AT LEAST 1980 with Reagan and the abortion issue.

[quote]Was he married to a woman? His younger pictures show a wedding ring. When did he come out?

When he got busted.

“The truth is that I’m gay. And that I have a wife and two kids who I love. My inability to reconcile those two truths has led to this agonizing place,”

Another gay Republican who likely spent his career denying rights to gays

[quote] TLP had it's 15 minutes of fame

Oh, dear!

[quote] I need to know if their ugly enough

Oh, DEAR!

R39, if the GOP had any sense, it would gnaw off its religious wing and thereby restore some of its former integrity as the party of Lincoln.

[quote]I’m living for the name Trickle. Did his parents hope he would grow up to be a gay porn star?

I’m guessing you’ve never heard of race car driver, Dick Trickle?

No, but I’ve heard of a trickle dick.

I can't find a single pic of his wife and kids

OMG, R44!

R36, as if Trumpers like you didn't look the other way about Trump's assaults. When do you see Fox News talking about Trump's many victims?

Wait, there are closeted gay Republicans? Color me SHOCKED!!! I'm getting the vapors as we speak

No, R44! The 14 year old's parents must have been racing fans, but that's still no excuse for sticking the poor kid with such a name.

He will fit right in here at DL.