Lincoln Project rips co-founder Jennifer Horn after she announces resignation amid John Weaver scandal
Anti-Trump group alleges ex-New Hampshire GOP chair demanded $250,000 'signing bonus', TV show and seat on board
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Lincoln Project offered a blistering response Friday to the resignation of co-founder Jennifer Horn in the wake of multiple allegations of sexual harassment against her former colleague John Weaver.
The New York Times initially reported Friday evening that Horn had terminated her relationship with the Lincoln Project "effective immediately."
"John Weaver’s grotesque and inappropriate behavior, coupled with his longstanding deceptions concerning that behavior, are sickening," Horn said in a statement to the Times. "It is clear at this point that my views about how the Lincoln Project’s efforts are managed, and the best way to move the Lincoln Project forward into the future in the wake of these awful events, have diverged.’’
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Lincoln Project fired back in a press release, accusing Horn of asking for a pay raise amid the organization's turmoil.
"Forty-eight hours ago, at a moment when the Lincoln Project was under attack from the Trump organization and their propaganda allies, Jennifer Horn, in written communication, requested from the Lincoln Project an immediate 'signing bonus' payment of $250,000 and a $40,000 per month consulting contract," Lincoln Project communications director Ryan Wiggins wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"This followed a Christmas Eve communication from Jennifer, where she demanded a board seat on the Lincoln Project, a television show, a podcast hosting assignment, and a staff to manage these endeavors," Wiggins continued. "She also stated her goal was 'to establish immediate and long-term financial security.' These demands were unanimously rejected by the management committee and board."
Wiggins concluded, "We immediately accepted Jennifer Horn’s resignation from the Lincoln Project. We wish her the best in her future endeavors."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News reached out to The Lincoln Project for comment.
(Gage Skidmore)
Horn was one of several "#NeverTrump" GOP operatives who founded the organization in 2019 with the goal of defeating President Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Horn previously served as the chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party after two failed congressional bids.
Weaver, a founding member of the Lincoln Project, acknowledged three weeks ago in a statement to the website Axios that he had sent "inappropriate" messages he "viewed as consensual, mutual conversations at the time."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}GEORGE CONWAY MOCKED FOR 'LAUGHABLE' CLAIM HE BARELY KNEW LINCOLN PROJECT COLLEAGUE
On Sunday, The New York Times published a bombshell report in which 21 young men accused Weaver of online harassment, including one who said he was 14 years old at the time.
Lincoln Project co-founders Steve Schmidt, Rick Wilson, George Conway and John Weaver.
In response to the report, Weaver told the Times in a statement: "I am so disheartened and sad that I may have brought discomfort to anyone in what I thought at the time were mutually consensual discussions. In living a deeply closeted life, I allowed my pain to cause pain for others. For that I am truly sorry to these men and everyone and for letting so many people down."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Questions have been raised about whether the other Lincoln Project co-founders had any knowledge about Weaver's behavior, which was the subject of rumors for more than three decades.
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George Conway was mocked for claiming on MSNBC he "didn't know John very well" despite the two of them having co-written a New York Times op-ed in December 2019 headlined, "We Are Republicans, and We Want Trump Defeated."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rick Wilson was accused on social media of "gaslighting" the public by claiming Weaver's colleagues knew nothing about the harassment.