JUST IN: New Report Alleges Steve Schmidt Was Aware of Sexual Harassment Allegations as Early as March

Former Republican strategist and Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt reportedly knew about John Weaver’s sexual harassment accusations since March.

The NeverTrump political organization has been under enormous pressure for weeks amid multiple reports that their leadership has known about Weaver’s impropriety for months. Weaver has been accused of asking numerous younger men for sexual favors in exchange for professional advancement, and he has admitted to his “inappropriate” communications while saying he believed they were consensual at the time.

Schmidt stepped down from the organization on Friday over the Weaver scandal but denied having any knowledge of his colleague’s misconduct. However, The 19th claims that Schmidt and co-founder Reed Galen were among the members of the group’s leadership who’ve known about the Weaver allegations for almost a year.

From the report

Some of the individuals came forward with new details on Monday after they were released from their nondisclosure agreements. Several said Sarah Lenti, a managing partner with the group who was previously its executive director, knew about the allegations against Weaver as early as May 2020. Lenti confirmed that some of the group’s co-founders knew about the allegations as early as March 2020. Schmidt and Galen were among those who knew, multiple sources said.

Co-founder George Conway has called for an independent investigation on the organization, and Galen told The 19th about the Lincoln Project’s plan to hire the law firm Paul Hastings to conduct the review.

“We are committed to creating a positive, diverse, and inclusive workplace environment at The Lincoln Project and inappropriate behavior by anyone associated with the organization will not be tolerated under any circumstances,” said Galen. “We have already taken decisive action to address internal concerns.”