Tipsheet

Lincoln Project's Undisclosed Relationship with Obama Operatives Draws More Scrutiny Over Finances

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  February 19, 2021 11:45 AM

Trump may be gone, but Trumpism will remain an entrenched element of the Republican Party. The GOP traitors at the Lincoln Project who wanted to purge that element are finished. In a couple of weeks, the group that vowed to soldier on after its co-founder, John Weaver, was ensnared in a web of sexual misconduct, has folded. Everyone resigned as dozens of young men came forward about how Weaver had harassed them through private messages. Some of them were as young as 14 when contact was made. 

The FBI is investigating those communications. To make matters worse, it seems very unlikely that no one knew about Weaver’s creepiness. He’s the co-founder. These people knew. These were the people who supposedly had the honor and integrity to conserve conservatism. They were all scum. And what about the money? The group raised some $90 million but no one really knows where it all went, and new relationships are drawing more scrutiny into how this project managed its finances. Take this relationship with Obama’s former staffers that was up until recently undisclosed. Now, is this shocking? No. In fact, Jennifer Van Laar documented this alliance over the weekend at our sister site, RedState. It looks like even the liberal media is now covering and confirming the report (via CNBC):

The anti-Trump Lincoln Project paid a consulting firm run by former Obama deputy press secretary Bill Burton to conduct a Black voter outreach program in Pennsylvania, which turned out to be the decisive state in the 2020 election.

The super PAC paid $1.5 million to the firm, BG Causes LLC, during the 2020 election cycle, according to data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Federal Election Commission filings show that the two $750,000 checks sent to BG Causes in October were intended for “voter outreach services.”

BG Causes runs the federal political activities of Bryson Gillette, the consulting firm Burton founded last year, the former Obama spokesman told CNBC. He also provided details on the Black voter outreach effort that was at least partially funded by the Lincoln Project.

The relationship between Burton’s firm and the Lincoln Project had not been reported. It is the latest glimpse into the financial dealings of the super PAC, which was founded by Republicans and conservatives who were dedicated to defeating former President Donald Trump in 2020.

[…]

The anti-Trump group has come under scrutiny after one of its co-founders, John Weaver, was accused of sexual misconduct. Several people, including critics and supporters of the group, have since been calling for transparency on its finances.

The committee was founded by a group of anti-Trump Republicans and independents, including former John McCain presidential campaign chief Steve Schmidt, author and former George H.W. Bush campaign advisor Rick Wilson and conservative lawyer George Conway.

Burton has past ties to Schmidt as the two advised former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz when he was considering an independent run for president. Schmidt recently stepped down from Lincoln Project’s board.

Conway, who is no longer with the group, tweeted on Wednesday “there must still be accountability and transparency for the handling of the Weaver fiasco, as well as of [LP’s] finances.”

For quite some time, people thought this was a grift operation assembled by disgruntled GOP operatives who couldn’t handle that Trump won the election. Well, more and more those assumptions appear to be proven true. I mean, co-founder Steve Schmidt has made some fine real estate purchases.