NY Times: 21 Young Men Allege Online Harassment by Lincoln Project's John Weaver

Lincoln Project co-founder John Weaver came out as a gay man recently, but in a problematic way: Amid allegations of inappropriate DMs to younger men, EDGE reported earlier this month.

On Sunday the New York Times published an extensive look at Weaver's inappropriate behavior, interviewing some 21 young men to whom he "has for years sent unsolicited and sexually provocative messages... often while suggesting he could help them get work in politics." The messages included some to a 14-year-old, to whom Weaver asked questions about his body while he was in high school, then, after he was 18, more direct ones.

The 61-year-old Weaver helped run the presidential campaigns of John McCain (in 2000) and John Kasich (in 2016). Axios reported that before co-founding The Lincoln Project in December 2019, Weaver "was a top adviser to leading Republicans, including John McCain and John Kasich. Amid Donald Trump's political ascendance, he became one of the most prominent members of the so-called 'Never Trump' movement." Over the lead-up to the election, the Lincoln Project produced both anti-Trump and pro-Biden ads.

None of the messages led to "physical encounters except in one consensual case, and none of the men accused Mr. Weaver of unlawful conduct," reported the Times. "Rather, many of them described feeling preyed upon by an influential older man in the field in which they wanted to work, and believing they had to engage with his repeated messaging or lose a professional opportunity."

In one message Weaver told one man he would "spoil" him when they saw each other. In another, "Help you other times. Give advice, counsel, help with bills. You help me ... sensually."

The Times concluded: "Interviews with the 21 young men, as well as a review of screenshots of dozens of messages he sent them over the last five years, show that his online behavior was in many cases aggressive and unwanted."