rick wilson MSNBC
MSNBC hosts did not ask Lincoln Project co-founders about sexual harassment allegations against their colleague despite booking them 17 times over three weeks.

The Lincoln Project, a pro-Democrat group, was forced to disavow co-founder John Weaver on Jan. 31 following a New York Times report that he sexually propositioned men and boys on social media.

The Lincoln Project claimed in a statement that it was "betrayed and deceived by John Weaver."


Weaver's sexual misconduct was first reported by Ryan Girdusky of The American Conservative on Jan. 11. After Girdusky published his story, the Lincoln Project quietly removed Weaver from its site's "Our Team" page. Weaver released a statement to Axios on Jan. 15 in which he said that he "viewed [the messages] as consensual mutual conversations at the time." The Lincoln Project's only official response to the story until Jan. 31 was a comment to Axios in which a spokesperson said that Weaver's "statement speaks for itself."

The Lincoln Project was able to avoid commenting on the Weaver allegations partly due to the fact that its co-founders were not asked about them during their many cable news appearances. In the three weeks between Girdusky's initial report and the Times' follow-up, George Conway appeared on MSNBC at least two times, Steve Schmidt appeared on MSNBC at least eight times, and Rick Wilson appeared on MSNBC at least seven times.

Girdusky has claimed that Lincoln Project leaders knew about Weaver's conduct, but did not address it.


When discussing impeachment on MSNBC's Deadline on Jan. 26, Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson said that Republicans are "sunk in a swamp of complete moral and personal cowardice." This appearance was 15 days after Girdusky first reported on the Weaver allegations.


Wilson has not addressed the Weaver allegations, although he did respond dismissively to a tweet alluding to the scandal.


Steve Schmidt, another Lincoln Project co-founder, has served as a paid contributor on MSNBC since 2019, according to the Washington Post. During his eight appearances between Girdusky's report and the NYT story, Schmidt offered commentary on his campaign to force Trump supporters "to apologize and retire from public life."


Like his organization, Schmidt would not publicly comment on the Weaver scandal until Jan. 31. Although Schmidt did "condemn [Weaver's] disgusting, immoral, predatory conduct," he immediately pivoted to a critique of former President Donald Trump. Schmidt tweeted at Donald Trump, Jr., saying Weaver's "conduct would get him promoted in your organization."



Grabien records show that MSNBC was the only network on which Conway, Schmidt, and Wilson appeared between Jan. 11 and 31.

MSNBC did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller's request for comment regarding its professional relationship with Schmidt and Wilson.