“I remember being a 14-year-old boy interested in politics and being semi-phrased by John Weaver talking to me,” said Trickle Miele, now 19. At the time, he supported the Republican Party and had a fan of Kasich, the Ohio governor whom Weaver was helping to prepare for the presidential race.
But as the messages kept coming, he became uncomfortable.
In June 2018, Mr. Weaver asked, “Are you still at HS?” – referring to high school – and Mr. Trickle Miele said yes, and that he would be 18 next spring. “You look older,” replied Mr. Weaver. “You got taller.”
In March 2020, when Mr. Trickle Miele was 18, Mr. Weaver wrote, “I want to go to Las Vegas and take him out to dinner and drink and pamper him!” And in a follow-up message he used a term that in sexual play refers to the body: “Hey, my boy! resend your stats to me! or I can guess! if it’s easier or more fun! “
Mr. Weaver, in response to questions about specific allegations, reiterated his statement earlier this month and said: “I am so discouraged and sad that I caused discomfort to anyone in what I thought at the time were mutually consensual discussions. By living a deeply closed life, I allowed my pain to cause pain to others. So I really feel sorry for these men and for everyone and for letting so many people down. “
Weaver was one of a handful of veteran Republican operatives who formed the Lincoln Project because, they said, they considered Trump a danger to the country. With mocking ads that often went viral, the group became a highly visible opponent of the Trump presidency.
Schmidt said in the interview that the Lincoln Project had no office when Weaver was involved, so the founders and the team were not together. He said the group was “outraged and horrified” to learn of Weaver’s behavior. After this article was published on Sunday, the Lincoln Project released a statement condemning Mr. Weaver and calling him “a predator, a liar and an abuser”.
Last year, when Cody Bralts was a recent graduate looking for a job in politics, he responded to one of Weaver’s tweets and, to his surprise, received a direct message from him. After Weaver said he sometimes traveled to Chicago, they discussed a meeting to discuss politics; at one point, Mr. Weaver asked what Mr. Bralts did in his spare time.