Israeli prime minister hopeful Gideon Sa’ar will be reviewing his professional connections to a handful of Lincoln Project executives engulfed in a sexual harassment scandal.
Sa’ar, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former Likud party rival, heads the New Hope party and hired Steve Schmidt, Stuart Stevens, Rick Wilson, and Reed Galen in January as campaign advisers in the run-up to next month’s parliamentary election. In light of the mounting allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated by Lincoln Project co-founders, the Israeli party is now distancing itself from the embroiled anti-Trump group.
“We have never worked with the Lincoln Project. The party engaged four senior consultants who were connected with the project. The individual in question is not known to us, we have never had any contact with him and certainly have not worked with him,” a spokesperson for the party said, according to the Jerusalem Post. “In any event, due to financial considerations, the contract with the consultants is under review, and in the coming days, we will examine the possibility of further cooperation.”
One of the Lincoln Project’s co-founders, John Weaver, has been accused of sexual harassment by more than 20 people. There have been allegations that the other founders knew of Weaver’s behavior long before it was revealed publicly.
“Of course they knew, I mean, I knew,” one GOP consultant in reference to Weaver’s allegedly abusive conduct said.
Some outlets reported that executive leadership knew about Weaver’s conduct as early as March 2020. Sarah Lenti, a managing partner with the group who also previously served as the executive director, admitted that some of the co-founders learned of the allegations in March last year, according to an article by The 19th News. The outlet reported that Schmidt and Galen were among those who knew at that time.
Despite the reporting to the contrary, on Jan. 31, the Lincoln Project said the co-founder was leading a “secret life,” calling him a “predator, a liar, and an abuser.”
“We are disgusted and outraged that someone in a position of power and trust would use it for these means,” the Lincoln Project said. “The totality of his deceptions are beyond anything any of us could have imagined, and we are absolutely shocked and sickened by it.”
The group, which has announced they will allow former and current employees to violate their “confidential provisions” to talk about their experiences, has faced additional scrutiny after it was found that $50 million of the group’s massive $90 million fundraising haul went to firms owned or operated by the organization’s leaders. Approximately $27 million went to advertisements in support of the group’s message.
Schmidt, among others including Jennifer Horn, the organization’s only female co-founder, resigned from their posts at the Lincoln Project in the wake of these ongoing crises.
Last week, the Lincoln Project announced it retained outside counsel to review Weaver’s tenure “to establish both accountability and best practices going forward for the Lincoln Project.”
Israel’s election is scheduled for March 23. Incumbent Netanyahu, dogged by allegations of corruption, will seek a record sixth term against a host of challengers, including Sa’ar.
