Lincoln Project’s Executive Director Filed for Bankruptcy as He Joined Group
Fred Wellman, whose previous workplace was described as ‘definition of a toxic work environment,’ tasked with getting ‘house in order’ at scandal-plagued PAC
In January, the political consultant Fred Wellman parachuted in to save the scandal-plagued Lincoln Project, taking over as executive director. He had filed for bankruptcy just five months earlier, citing hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid liabilities, according to records reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.
A longtime associate of Lincoln Project cofounder Steve Schmidt, Wellman joined the Lincoln Project in July 2020 as a senior adviser for veterans affairs and was promoted to executive director earlier this year. The same month that he joined the multimillion-dollar super PAC, Wellman declared more than $715,129 in debts and $53,418 in declared assets, bankruptcy documents show.
Wellman took the helm at the Lincoln Project as it was rocked by internal scandals spurred by accusations that its founders used donor cash for personal gain and revelations that cofounder John Weaver had for years preyed upon young men, working to trade professional advancement for sexual favors.
The anti-Trump organization used much of the whopping $87 million it raised during the 2020 election to enrich its own top officials: Cofounder Rick Wilson paid off a hefty mortgage and Schmidt scooped up a seven-figure mountain condo in Park City, Utah.
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