Former Lincoln Project adviser tells group to 'shut it down' as scandals mount

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The Lincoln Project is 'effectively dead' after John Weaver scandal: Rove

Fox News contributor Karl Rove questions who would donate to the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project after a sexual harassment scandal involving its co-founder.

A former senior adviser to the embattled Lincoln Project said Tuesday the never-Trump group should just "shut down" in the wake of mounting scandals.

Kurt Bardella, who recently resigned from the super PAC formed to counter former President Trump, took to Twitter following more revelations that some Lincoln Project leaders had known of sexual harassment allegations against co-founder John Weaver since March. 

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"Just shut it down already ... it’s over," Bardella tweeted in response to new reporting from The 19th about Weaver. 

Bardella is one of the many leaders at the Lincoln Project who have fled the anti-Trump group in recent days amid a series of scandals, including Weaver's sexual harassment allegations and stories about fundraising and spending mismanagement.

Kurt Bardella

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Bardella confirmed to Axios that he resigned from the group on Friday. 

Donald Trump Jr., son of the former president, tweeted that Bardella should account for what he knew about the scandals.

"The rats are jumping off the ship...What did former Lincoln Project spokesman/adviser @KurtBardella know and when did he know it?" Trump tweeted.

George Conway, a founder of the Lincoln Project, tweeted that he agreed with Bardella.

"It's a shame, and we shouldn't forget the hard work of so many people and the positive things the organization did, but yes, I think this is right," he tweeted.

The Lincoln Project launched in November 2019 and quickly emerged as a powerful player in the political fight against Trump and his allies in Congress.

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The PAC saw enormous financial success in its efforts to remove Trump from office, raising $90 million since its creation in 2019. Only $27 million of that amount, however, went toward advertising costs, and the organization has spent more than $50 million on consulting firms controlled by the group's leaders.

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Co-founders Jennifer Horn and Stephen Schmidt have since resigned. Conway, former Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway's husband and Lincoln Project co-founder, left the group in August 2020. 

The Associated Press and Fox News' Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.