Of the roughly $90 million raised by the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, more than half went to companies run by the group’s founder, according to public records data reviewed by Fox Business Network.
Launched in November 2019, the Lincoln Project is a super PAC that allows its leaders to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money.
Its founders include Steve Schmidt and Reed Galen, both former advisers to John McCain; George Conway, a conservative lawyer; Jennifer Horn, former chairman of the New Hampshire GOP; Florida veteran political ad producer Rick Wilson; and John Weaver, who has long advised former Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
About one-third of the money raised by the super PAC (about $27 million) paid directly for ads that aired on broadcast and cable television or appeared online during the 2020 campaign, records show.
Campaign finance disclosures show that the vast majority of the cash was divided among consulting firms controlled by its founder, including about $27 million paid to a small firm controlled by Galen and another $21 million paid to a boutique firm run by former Project Lincoln member Ron Steslow. That’s thousands of dollars.
That leaves tens of millions of dollars for production costs, overhead and high consulting fees charged by the group’s members.
“It raises questions about where the rest of the money ends up,” said Brendan Fisher, an attorney with the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington, D.C. “Generally, you would expect to see a major super PAC spend most or more of its money on advertising, and this one didn’t. “
The revelation comes as the organization faces sexual harassment allegations against one of its co-founders, John Weaver. Members of the organization’s leadership were reportedly notified in writing and by subsequent phone calls in June 2020 of at least 10 specific harassment allegations against Weaver, two of which involved employees of the Lincoln Project, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the situation.
After the Associated Press reported the new details, the organization announced Thursday evening that its board of directors had decided to “hire top-notch outside professionals” to review Weaver’s work during his tenure “to establish accountability and future best practices for the Lincoln Project.”
Still, it’s difficult to know how much its members were paid. While several companies did receive payments, Weaver and Wilson are not listed in the public record. Records show Schmidt collected a $1.5 million payment in December, but quickly returned it.
Fox Business has reached out to the Lincoln Project for comment.
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