Fmr Lincoln Project Adviser Apologizes for Publicly Posting DMs Between Group Co-Founder and Reporter
The Lincoln Project has been mired in scandal for the past few months over serious allegations against co-founder John Weaver.
Some prominent faces of the anti-Trump group left, and just this week George Conway said it should be shut down.
One rather stunning chapter in this saga was after co-founder Jennifer Horn stepped down. In Mid-February, the Lincoln Project’s Twitter account published direct messages between Horn and Amanda Becker, Washington correspondent for The 19th. (Becker has reported some in-depth pieces about the organization.)
The move received immediate criticism and the tweets were eventually deleted.
At the time, Emily Ramshaw — co-founder and CEO of the 19th — said, “We’re not going to be bullied or intimidated out of pursuing critical journalism.”
Several minutes ago, @ProjectLincoln posted a series of screenshots of private Twitter DMs showing reporting by one of our journalists — not long after she sent @ProjectLincoln a series of questions to respond to for a story.
— Emily Ramshaw (@eramshaw) February 12, 2021
We’re not going to be bullied or intimidated out of pursuing critical journalism.
— Emily Ramshaw (@eramshaw) February 12, 2021
When Steve Schmidt announced he was leaving the Lincoln Project, his statement included an apology to Horn and Becker. He said, “That direct message should never have been made public. It is my job as the senior leader to accept responsibility for the tremendous misjudgment to release it.”
On Wednesday, former Lincoln Project senior adviser Kurt Bardella posted an apology of his own, saying that he posted those direct messages.
“I was instructed to post the and much to my regret, I did,” Bardella, a USA Today contributing columnist and regular MSNBC guest, said in a statement. “I wish I had refused, but honestly, by that point, there just wasn’t any fight left in me and I resigned the next morning.”
“I just didn’t think I could credibly advocate effectively for the things I care about until I took this step of saying publicly to Amanda & Jennifer what I’ve shared with them privately. I’m sorry,” he added.
An apology that I owe to @NHJennifer & @AmandaBecker: pic.twitter.com/psfQrAmqdk
— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) March 10, 2021
Becker tweeted in response, “Accepted, Kurt. We all do things we wish we hadn’t. Acknowledging them and learning from them is how we grow. No hard feelings.”
