Co-founder of anti-Trump Republican group accused of sexual harassment by 21 men

An anti-Trump Republican group branded one of its co-founders "a predator, a liar, and an abuser" after he was accused of sexually harassing young men who aspired to a career in politics.

The Lincoln Project, a high-profile group which formed during the election campaign to prevent Donald Trump's re-election, said it was "disgusted and outraged" by the alleged actions of co-founder John Weaver.

Mr Weaver, a veteran Republican strategist who helped run the presidential campaigns of the late senator John McCain and the former Ohio governor John Kasich, has been accused of sending unsolicited and sexually charged messages to 21 young men online.

In some instances, the men claimed Mr Weaver, 61, suggested that he could help them get work in politics while asking them to send lewd pictures. None of the men accused Mr Weaver of unlawful behaviour.

One of the alleged victims, Cole Trickle Miele, said the Republican strategist began contacting him in 2015 - when he was just 14 years old.

“I remember being a 14-year-old kid interested in politics and being semi-starstruck by John Weaver engaging in a conversation with me,” he told The New York Times.

In June 2018, he said Mr Weaver asked him if he was still in high school and noted "you look older".

When he turned 18, Mr Trickle Miele said the political operative invited him to Las Vegas to "spoil him" along with sexual innuendos.

According to the New York Times, Mr Weaver sent sexual solicitations to at least 10 of the men and in some instances offered professional assistance in exchange for sex.

One of those men, Anthony Covell, 22, said Mr Weaver invited him to join the Lincoln Project during one message exchange.

In a sexually suggestive message, he said Mr Weaver asked him to send him a picture before asking him to call him for more details about the project.

“Something inside me was saying, ‘No, don’t do this, he seems kind of sketchy,’” Mr Covell told the paper.

The Lincoln Project, named after the Republican Party’s most famous president, formed ahead of the 2020 election campaign with the intention of convincing voters to abandon Mr Trump.

The eight co-founders were outspoken critics of Mr Trump, and included the husband of one of the then-president’s most well-known advisers, Kellyanne Conway.

In a statement, the Lincoln Project said: "John Weaver led a secret life that was built on a foundation of deception. He is a predator, a liar, and an abuser.

"We extend our sympathies to those who were targeted by his deplorable and predatory behaviour."

Mr Weaver said he acknowledged that he had sent "inappropriate" messages to young men, but said he viewed them as "consensual, mutual conversations at the time."

"In living a deeply closeted life, I allowed my pain to cause pain for others. For that I am truly sorry to these men and everyone and for letting so many people down,” he said in a statement.