Lincoln Project co-founder accused of grooming multiple young men for sex

A co-founder of the “never-Trump” political organization The Lincoln Project has been accused of harassing, grooming, and having sex with multiple young men in exchange for promises of jobs and other perks, according to a new bombshell report.

Writing for The American Conservative, author and journalist Ryan Girdusky published numerous screenshots of conversations with men who claimed GOP strategist John Weaver, once a top advisor to the late Republican presidential candidate John McCain, used his power and influence to coerce young men into sex.

Quoting an anonymous source, Girdusky wrote he, “told me he was in communication with several young men solicited by Weaver for a job, after which he propositioned them for sex as part of the offer. He shared direct messages with me of both young men, one of whom had been ‘strung along for days about a possible job,’ and when they met at his hotel, Weaver demanded they engage in sexual intercourse. They did, it was consensual, but Weaver never made good on the job offer.”

Girdusky’s investigation into Weaver began over the summer, he writes, with numerous men continuing to come forward but wishing to remain anonymous, perhaps out of fear of retribution by the powerful political group, which became a darling of left-wing media during the 2020 general election cycle.

Of another accuser, Girdusky writes, “Weaver reached out to him with the promise of a job opportunity. He told [me] Weaver would condescendingly call him ‘my boy.'”

“Stories about Weaver along these lines aren’t new. According to The New Republic, Karl Rove alleged that Weaver made passes at young men back in 2000. At the time, Rove and Weaver were competitors to be the dominant consultant in Texas. Their professional feud allowed any allegations to be dismissed as a smear campaign by Rove,” he went on to write.

Another accuser claimed Weaver approached him around 2017 when he was a junior in college saying he could offer him an internship in Austin, Texas, or Washington, DC. The direct messages led to the pair exchanging phone numbers and texting about the student’s career ambitions, Girdusky writes. The student then claimed one evening, after midnight, Weaver called him saying he was away from his wife on a work trip.

“According to the student, Weaver had been drinking but continued to ask about his studies and career ambitions. Weaver abruptly changed topics and asked if he played sports and was athletic. The Lincoln Project co-founder followed up by asking about his height and weight. At this point, the student became uncomfortable and said when asked about his build, he said he was ‘about average.’ Weaver responded, ‘oh my boy, I’m sure certain parts of you are well above average,'” Girdusky writes. “The student told him he needed to study and abruptly ended the conversation. Weaver would call him later on that night and several times over the next few weeks, but the student blocked his number and his social media.”

On Saturday, Girdusky teased the bombshell report in a series of tweets about accusations against an unnamed founder of the Lincoln Project. After those tweets gained traction, some even being shared by Donald Trump, Jr. the floodgates opened for even more accusers to come forward, reports RedState.

“John Weaver DM’ed and followed virtually every young gay on this site. Even I was reached out to on an old account, but not sexually. One of my friends has even shared with me that John Weaver raped him years ago. It’s incredible how open of a secret this is but no reporting,” one user wrote on Twitter.

A young man named Josh Price tweeted, “I am going to deflate all of the air out of this right now because Ryan is clearly taking joy in what happened to some of these people in order to attack his opponent. I know who did it because it happened to me. It was John Weaver.”

Author and journalist Scott Stedman then tweet, “I followed John Weaver when I started my Twitter account. We exchanged messages, I sent him my stories, chatted about Russia, etc. He wrote a blurb for my book. He offered me some sort of ‘joint venture’ which I wasn’t interested in, so I didn’t respond to his calls. One day, he DM’d me and said he had ‘advice.’ He then proceeded to tell me how ‘hot’ I looked and commented on my profile picture and my hair. He started calling ‘my boy.’ I found it deeply uncomfortable. Though we continued to DM every once in a while, the situation left me feeling quite uncomfortable. I brushed it off as one tends to do. I’m telling this story because I know there are more people who endured this kind of grooming with many more explicit details. As the Lincoln Project continues to grow financially, I felt compelled to share.”

The Lincoln Project continues to grown financially, with its members still regular talking heads on left-wing news programs. The organization raised $4.8 million between Nov. 24 and Dec. 16, 2020. On Saturday, the Lincoln Project’s Stuart Stevens tweeted that the group is constructing a database of Trump officials and staff to track where they ended up professionally so they could be “held accountable.”