One of the co-founders of the Lincoln Project, John Weaver, left Never Trump earlier this month after admitting he sexually harassed teenage men and promised them jobs in politics in exchange for sex. New York Times I did some research and talked to several of Weaver’s accusers, most notably Cole Trickle Miele, who was 14 when Weaver allegedly harassed him.
From The Times:
Cole Trickle Miele was 14 years elderly when he followed Mr. Weaver on Twitter in 2015 and quickly received a direct message from him. At first he didn’t think anything was wrong.
“I remember being interested in politics as a 14-year-old kid and being very impressed when John Weaver talked to me,” said Trickle Miele, now 19. At the time, he supported the Republican Party and was a fan of Mr. Kasich, the Ohio governor whom Mr. Weaver helped prepare for the presidential race.
But as more news came in, he felt uncomfortable.
In June 2018, Mr. Weaver asked, “Are you still in HS?” — referring to high school — and Mr. Trickle Miele said yes, and that he would be 18 next spring. “You look older,” Mr. Weaver replied. “You have become taller.”
In March 2020, when Mr. Trickle Miele was 18, Mr. Weaver wrote: “I want to come to Vegas, take you out to dinner, drink and spoil you!!,” and in a subsequent message he used a term that refers to sexual banter to his own body: “Hey, my boy! send me your stats again! or I’ll guess! if it’s easier and nicer this way!”
In response to questions about the specific allegations, Mr. Weaver repeated his statement from earlier this month and said: “I am so disheartened and sad that I may have made anyone uncomfortable with what I believed at the time to be consensual conversations. Living a deeply hidden life, I allowed my pain to cause pain to others. For this reason, I am truly sorry to these men and everyone, and to the fact that I have let so many people down.”
Other accusers shared similar stories of Weaver abusing his political connections in an attempt to get laid.
Recent college graduate Cody Braits said he responded to a tweet posted by Weaver. Weaver chimed in with his direct messages and offered to meet Braits to talk politics the next time he was in the area. When the two started talking about what they did in their free time, Braits mentioned that he ran marathons. Then everything became strange.
“At least I know that whatever we do, you can do it multiple times in a row,” Weaver allegedly responded with a winking emoji.
“It looked like he was taking advantage of his power,” Baits told The Times. “He was someone very important and high in the field I want to pursue.”
Between 2016 and 2018, Weaver allegedly asked 23-year-old Kyle Allen about various details, including his height, weight, what he was wearing and whether he was circumcised. Allen claims Weaver repeatedly asked to be invited to speak at the University of Ottawa, where Allen was attending school at the time.
“I tried to turn the conversation to politics, and he always found a way to bring it back to sexual topics,” Allen told The Times.
Two more men accuse Weaver of offering them jobs at The Lincoln Project, but used “suggestive messages” in making the offer.
One of the two men, 22-year-old Anthony Covell, said he sent Weaver messages back and forth in July 2019. These messages were not operational until December 3, 2019, just weeks before the announcement of Project Lincoln. During this time, Weaver allegedly offered Covel a job.
“He said he was looking for young people who were creative and engaged in the upcoming elections,” Covell recalled. “I was clearly interested.”
Weaver asked Covell to “put out a thirst trap” or “send me a photo,” and then asked Covell to call with more details about the job.
Covell said there was something “insecure” about Weaver and that’s why he never called.
The American conservative who broke initial storyincludes screenshots of reporter Ryan Girdusky’s conversations with victims that are similar to what The Times reported.
After the Time interviews came to light, The Lincoln Project issued a statement sharply criticizing Weaver’s actions.
“John Weaver lived a secret life built on deceit on every level. He is a predator, a liar and a perpetrator of violence. We express our deepest sympathies to those who were targeted by his deplorable and predatory behavior,” he added. statement he said. “We are disgusted and outraged that someone in a position of power and trust would use this for such purposes.”
“The totality of his deception is beyond anything anyone could have imagined, and we are completely shocked and disgusted by it,” the statement continued. “Like many others, we were betrayed and deceived by John Weaver. We are extremely grateful that John Weaver was never in the physical presence of any member of the Lincoln Project.”
Girdusky, however, said the Lincoln Project has changed its mind about the allegations.
When teenage men approached them, they ignored it.
When they heard I was working on this story, they warned Weaver.
When I wrote the story, they didn’t say anything.
When Axios published the article, they said he was just gay
Now he is a predator.@ProjektLincoln he lied. They knew. They are complicit https://t.co/tDmJWVgweV
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) January 31, 2021
