Lincoln Project says investigation has cleared execs in relation to sexual misconduct allegations against co-founder

The conservative anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project released a statement on Tuesday claiming that its executives were cleared in any wrongdoing related to sexual misconduct claims against John Weaver, the group’s co-founder.

Mr Weaver, 62, formerly worked on the 2008 GOP presidential campaign of the late Sen John McCain, and was accused in January by 21 men of sending them unsolicited sexually explicit messages online. The longtime GOP operative was described as appearing in a predatory manner to the younger men who described feeling as if they had to play along with Mr Weaver’s messages in order to remain in conservative political circles, according to The New York Times. At least one of Mr Weaver’s alleged victims was underage, and was 14 at the time the messages began.

In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, two officials on the group’s “transition advisory committee” said that an outside law firm had uncovered “no evidence that anyone at The Lincoln Project was aware of any inappropriate communications with any underage individuals” before the publication of the Times’ report in January.

The statement goes on to claim that the law firm found no evidence of communications between Mr Weaver and Lincoln Project employees, contractors or volunteers that rose to the level of “actionable sexual harassment”.

While the statement does not admit to any knowledge of Mr Weaver’s alleged actions by his colleagues at The Lincoln Project, it notably leaves open the possibility that his colleagues knew of sexually explicit messages sent unsolicited to young conservative men who were not part of The Lincoln Project or affiliated in any way. The Times did not report that any of the men with whom Mr Weaver allegedly exchanged messages were affiliated with the group, and at least one specifically mentioned avoiding work with the organisation as a result of messages he exchanged with Mr Weaver.

Other executives at the organisation, most notably Steve Schmidt, Mr McCain’s former campaign manager and a close ally of Mr Weaver, also released statements in January claiming that they did not know of any inappropriate behavior by their colleague.

“There was no awareness or insinuations of any type of inappropriate behavior when we became aware of the chatter at the time,” Mr Schmidt said, referring to when he first learned that Mr Weaver was gay.

Known for its vocal opposition to former President Donald Trump, The Lincoln Project spent more than $81 million opposing Mr Trump’s reelection bid last year.

Their well-produced ads frequently featured longtime conservative voters speaking out about their criticism and reasons for abandoning Mr Trump at the ballot box despite supporting him in 2016.

Mr Weaver declined to comment on specific allegations at the time of the reporting by The Times in January, but released a statement acknowledging sending “inappropriate” messages and apologising for his actions.