{"id":116582,"date":"2021-02-03T12:30:50","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T17:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=116582"},"modified":"2021-02-03T12:42:52","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T17:42:52","slug":"rick-wilson-threatens-critics-in-exclusive-straw-man-defense-of-embattled-lincoln-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rick-wilson-threatens-critics-in-exclusive-straw-man-defense-of-embattled-lincoln-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Rick Wilson Threatens Critics in \u2018Exclusive\u2019 Straw Man Defense of Embattled Lincoln Project"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frick-wilson-threatens-critics-in-exclusive-straw-man-defense-of-embattled-lincoln-project%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=116582&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/wilson-weaver-e1612368934703.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Rick Wilson, cofounder of the Lincoln Project, has spent enough time around politicians and lawyers to be well-versed in the art of the straw man deflection, the non-denial denial, and the carefully worded bluster of righteous indignation.<\/p>\n<p>Wilson skillfully deployed all of these familiar tactics Tuesday evening in what was teasingly <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TaraSetmayer\/status\/1356667966000160772\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">billed<\/a> as an &#8220;exclusive response&#8221; to the <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/politics\/john-weaver-sex-scandal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">allegations<\/a> of predatory sexual behavior against Lincoln Project cofounder John Weaver, who is no longer affiliated with the <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/politics\/the-lincoln-project-shares-personnel-address-with-liberal-election-groups\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Democratic-aligned<\/a> Super PAC. In the words of Lincoln Project TV host Tara Setmayer:&nbsp;&#8220;It&#8217;s going to be&nbsp;\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25. Don&#8217;t miss it!&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"posts-content__category-widget md:hidden -ml-4 -mr-4 my-8 px-4 py-6 bg-gray-100\">\n<h4 class=\"mt-0 text-red-600 font-medium font-sans uppercase\">Recent Stories in Politics<\/h4>\n<ul class=\"list-none p-0\">\n<li class><a class=\"text-black block mb-3 pb-3 border-b border-white\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/politics\/rick-wilson-threatens-critics-in-exclusive-straw-man-defense-of-embattled-lincoln-project\/\"><strong>Rick Wilson Threatens Critics in \u2018Exclusive&#8217; Straw Man Defense of Embattled Lincoln Project<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li class><a class=\"text-black block mb-3 pb-3 border-b border-white\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/politics\/the-lincoln-project-shares-personnel-address-with-liberal-election-groups\/\"><strong>The Lincoln Project Shares Personnel, Address With Liberal Election Groups<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li class><a class=\"text-black block mb-3 pb-3 border-b border-white\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/politics\/lincoln-project-disarray\/\"><strong>Lincoln Project Rocked by Trumpian Levels of Scandal, Disarray<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Wilson&#8217;s &#8220;exclusive&#8221; denunciation of Weaver&#8217;s actions came in response to a <em>New York Times<\/em> story published on Sunday that centered&nbsp;on the specific allegation&nbsp;that Weaver had engaged in contact with a 14-year-old boy.&nbsp;&#8220;I will never ever be able to replicate the pain we felt learning this on Sunday when that article hit,&#8221; Wilson said.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Times<\/em> story was published&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/politics\/lincoln-project-sex-scandal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">more than two weeks<\/a> after numerous credible allegations against Weaver were aired on Twitter and printed in fringe outlets unlikely to be read by Lincoln Project donors.&nbsp;Dozens of young (adult) men came forward, accusing Weaver of grooming behavior, offering jobs in exchange for sex, and sending them photos of his penis without their consent.<\/p>\n<p>The Lincoln Project refused to comment or express any outrage until the <em>Times&nbsp;<\/em>picked up the story. Even after Weaver admitted, in a statement to <em>Axios<\/em> on January 15, to engaging in &#8220;inappropriate&#8221; sexual interactions with young men, the Lincoln Project&#8217;s only public response to the matter was a spokesman&#8217;s comment that &#8220;John&#8217;s statement speaks for itself.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Wilson went on to issue an impassioned denial that members of the Lincoln Project had any knowledge of Weaver&#8217;s predatory behavior, specifically his reported dalliance with a minor.&nbsp;&#8220;I wish we could have peered into that vortex of secrets that defined [Weaver&#8217;s] life, and known he was engaged in contact with a 14-year-old boy,&#8221; Wilson said. &#8220;At no point was any member of the Lincoln Project informed about this underage child.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Wilson proceeded to mow down a number of straw man critiques of the Lincoln Project&#8217;s involvement in the Weaver scandal while seemingly threatening the group&#8217;s critics with legal action.&nbsp;&#8220;The accusation that we knew about a minor child being stalked and harassed by John Weaver,&#8221; he said, was not only &#8220;categorically false&#8221; but &#8220;actionably false.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The folks who are accusing us of awareness of this are sick. They are, in fact, putting themselves in jeopardy. I&#8217;ll just say that as bluntly as I can,&#8221; Wilson fumed. &#8220;There will be a moment soon when the jeopardy you put yourself in by making those accusations is meaningful and tangible.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It was not entirely clear to whom Wilson was referring. Sober-minded critics, such as journalist Ryan Girdusky, who first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericanconservative.com\/articles\/the-lincoln-projects-predator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote<\/a> about the Weaver allegations in the <em>American Conservative<\/em>, have&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RyanGirdusky\/status\/1355898635544911873\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">argued<\/a> that, generally speaking, the Lincoln Project &#8220;absolutely knew about [Weaver&#8217;s] predatory behavior.&#8221;&nbsp;Girdusky and others have cited&nbsp;conversations with individuals, including Weaver&#8217;s alleged victims, who said they contacted the group to express concern but were rebuffed.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, no serious person has alleged that Weaver&#8217;s behavior was, in Wilson&#8217;s words, a &#8220;universal constant in our organization.&#8221; Nevertheless, Wilson persisted in advising this particular straw man to &#8220;go fuck yourself.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The closest Wilson came to addressing charges that the Lincoln Project must have had a general knowledge of Weaver&#8217;s behavior was his acknowledgment that it was &#8220;apparently an open secret on gay Twitter,&#8221; which he doesn&#8217;t check &#8220;every day&#8221; because he&#8217;s a &#8220;57-year-old white dude who lives in Florida.&#8221; At no point, he said, did the allegations &#8220;come to our attention in a way that said, \u2018Hey, wow, this is a problem at scale.'&#8221; In other words, it wasn&#8217;t the first time they&#8217;d heard of it, either.<\/p>\n<p>The real tragedy of the situation, Wilson argued, was &#8220;the gift that John Weaver gave&#8221; to critics of the Lincoln Project, who are &#8220;gleeful&#8221; and &#8220;delighted&#8221; by the controversy, while &#8220;diminishing the actual impact of real predators.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>After Wilson concluded his &#8220;exclusive response&#8221; to the Weaver scandal, Setmayer applauded his &#8220;very powerful&#8221; and &#8220;emotional&#8221; words. Minutes later, they were laughing hysterically about the &#8220;batshit&#8221; antics of freshman congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-8 hide-print\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1526555381173-4\" class=\"mobile-250 desktop-90\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rick Wilson, cofounder of the Lincoln Project, has spent enough time around politicians and lawyers to be well-versed in the art of the straw man deflection, the non-denial denial, and &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1892544,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4365,3998,4149,5059,4622,5056],"class_list":["post-116582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-critics","tag-defense","tag-rick","tag-straw","tag-threatens","tag-wilson"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1892544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}