Fox News “Outnumbered” panelist Dagen McDowell recently called out MSNBC, particularly host Nicole Wallace, for ignoring sexual harassment claims against The Lincoln Project officials and booking their personnel to appear on the show at least nine times anyway. She accused the network of coddling up to The Lincoln Project and covering up for people who suit their political beliefs. The left-leaning media platform interviewed Lincoln Project co-founder John Weaver a number of times, even after first reports of harassment were published.
New York Times journalist Ryan Girdusky first broke the story, featuring interviews with 21 young men who accused Weaver of sending inappropriate messages. One of the sexually provocative messages was sent to a fourteen-year-old boy. Since the story broke, claims of questionable finances and its toxic work environment also increased.
“As long as you would come on TV and say nasty things about Donald Trump and his supporters … there was a space for you on those networks despite the fact that it was common knowledge about the problems with [Lincoln Project co-founder] John Weaver,” McDowell said.
McDowell also asked why MSNBC booked the guests if they knew there were problems. Wallace hosted Lincoln Project co-founders Steve Schmidt and Rick Wilson, as well as project advisers Kurt Bardella and Tara Setmayer.
Days after the New York Times story broke, Wilson was caught using funds from the Lincoln Project’s donations page to sort out terms of his 30-year mortgage and closeout for the amount of $200,000. The page went inactive and Wilson’s podcast was put on hold by the Daily Beast due to a pending review of the organization’s “operations and culture.” Wilson had also started a GoFundMe campaign after former President Trump’s election to produce the film “Everything Trump Touches Dies” which raised nearly $65,000, but the film was never made.
While some Lincoln officials like Setmayer have planned to form a “transition advisory committee,” others like George Conway have publicly supported shutting the Lincoln Project down. Setmayer was named chair of the new committee and announced the organization will get its house in order before pursuing an “ambitious agenda.”
“We not only want to build a better country, but we want to build The Lincoln Project into a more sustainable platform to increase our ability to affect the national political debate,” they wrote, noting that the group has hired a law firm to “investigate allegations of inappropriate behavior.” What the Lincoln Project failed to mention is that some of the attorneys in the firm they hired are Lincoln Project donors.
The radical left has no problem stooping their standards as long as the media continues to shine them in a positive light. How does mainstream media keep getting away with this?