Thread by @ScottMStedman

I don't want to feed into Don Jr's nonsense but I do want to tell a story.

I followed John Weaver when I started my Twitter account. We exchanged messages, I sent him my stories, chatted about Russia, etc. He wrote a blurb for my book.

He offered me some sort of "joint venture" which I wasn't interested in, so I didn't respond to his calls.

One day, he DM'd me and said he had "advice". He then proceeded to tell me how "hot" I looked and commented on my profile picture and my hair. He started calling me "my boy". I found it deeply uncomfortable.

Though we continued to DM every once in a while, the situation left me feeling quite uncomfortable. I brushed it off as one tends to do.

I'm telling this story because I know there are more people who endured this kind of grooming with many more explicit details. As the Lincoln Project continues to grow financially, I felt compelled to share.

Of course, what he said to me pales in comparison to others with whom Weaver communicated and countless others who have experienced much worse from people in power.

The goal here is to hopefully provide some cover for others who were disturbed by Weaver's advances and might want to speak out. And hopefully, the Lincoln Project does something.

I don't owe you guys anything but here.

Since posting this thread 25 minutes ago, I've gotten multiple DMs of people telling me they experienced this (and worse).

My DMs are open if you want to anonymously tell me your story. I hope people can still understand that some things aren't about politics.

For those asking why speaking up about this now: There are others, including some who reached out to me in recent days. Many many many many others, some afraid to say anything.

One last point on this before I mute this thread because of hateful comments: Weaver was a top aide to Kasich's Presidential campaign in 2016. If this behavior extends to that time period (it does), it can be used by anyone as compromising material. It can be dangerous.

Weaver also signed on to be an agent of the Russian government in 2019, before reversing course.