When the Lincoln Project (LP) makes the news, it almost always intentional, like putting up an Ivanka billboard or picking fights in the twitterverse. They like to call the shots when attracting media attention. LP made news of a different sort this past week when “Founder“ Steven Schmidt resigned (or just stepped back) in a pair of scandals. Scandal #1 was covering up for predatory behavior of John Weaver as reported by AP News and a diary here at DK. Weaver worked at LP for many months after accusations were made in June 2020 as management shielded his past record.
Scandal #2 stems from a story at the 19th, ‘an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy’, titled “Inside the Lincoln Project’s ‘toxic’ workplace” and providing such details as
There was language used in both the Lincoln Project’s ads and within its workplace about gender and sexuality that made (their young liberal staffers) uncomfortable, the dozens of interviews revealed. Young men were “wizards” while young women were “girls.” Political rivals were “pussies” or “cocksuckers” or “faggots.”
according to the dozen people that they talked to (bound to be off the record by LP NDAs). In their investigation, the 19th validated the third and most pervasive scandal of LP, that their motivation was not what it seemed. Deep in the 19th’s story is this:
A frequent quip from Schmidt overheard by multiple people was that the Lincoln Project was his vehicle to achieve “generational wealth.”
Despite his declarations publicly, Schmidt saw LP as a means to create a not only a fortune for himself, but also his descendants….is there any other way to read ‘achieving generational wealth’? For Schmidt and presumably his cohorts (my assumption), LP is not a grass roots or idealistic organization that will bring about positive change for our democracy, it is a piggy bank from which one can amass wealth.
The LP “founders” recognized a niche market; create an anti-Trump superPAC, collect donations from Democrats, and hide the accounting. Their videos played well to those on the left, because while Trump was the target, we were the marks. What a great way to really own the libs.
Of the $90 million Lincoln Project has raised, more than $50 million has gone to firms controlled by the group’s leaders. That leaves tens of millions of dollars that went toward expenses like production costs, overhead — and exorbitant consulting fees collected by members of the group.
“It raises questions about where the rest of the money ultimately went,” said Brendan Fischer, an attorney with the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington. “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.”
The vast majority of the cash was split among consulting firms controlled by its founders, including about $27 million paid to a small firm controlled by Galen and another $21 million paid to a boutique firm run by former Lincoln Project member Ron Steslow, campaign finance disclosures show. But in many cases it’s difficult to tell how much members of the group were paid. That’s because the Lincoln Project adopted a strategy, much like the Trump campaign they criticized, to mask how much money they earned. AP News
LP’s grift has been called out by the likes of Rob Pyers, AOC, editorials and others. Schmidt replies to these accusations as
"We fully comply with the law," Schmidt said. "The Lincoln Project will be delighted to open its books for audit immediately after the Trump campaign and all affiliated super PACs do so, explaining the cash flow of the nearly $700 million that flowed through their organizations controlled by Brad Parscale and Jared Kushner."
Which raises the question:
"The Lincoln Project promises transparency only if the Trump campaign is transparent? Why?" New York Times reporter Shane Goldmacher wrote.
"I though the very essence of the Lincoln Project was that they held themselves to a higher standard than Donald Trump and Trump's enablers in the GOP," The Guardian's Ben Jacobs wrote.
In support of LP, we often see the rationalization “the enemy of my enemy is your friend”. In this case however, the enemy of your enemy is eyeing your wallet all along, and Steve Schmidt has the $1.4 million dollar modern mountain house to prove it.
