As they now attempt to distance themselves, those who touted the criminal cadre are no less guilty.

It was with satisfying alacrity that the downfall of the rabid clan at The Lincoln Project took place this month. As has been exposed, the group of dyspeptic contrarians were founded on dysfunction, fueled solely by greed, and were so driven to keep up the false front in the name of cash that they permitted disgusting predatory behavior from one founder to keep their grift in play. This group was shown to be actively accusing others of heinous behavior while allowing worse behavior within their ranks.

What is taking place now in the wake of the exposure and self-immolation of this organization is a collection of people who enthusiastically partook in the scheme or loudly cheered them on attempting to distance themselves from the toxicity. Well there is some cold truth to be had — those seeking exoneration at this time should not be allowed to avoid culpability, and the reasons are many.

The brash co-founder Steve Schmidt has been a shining example of flailing while his enterprise was foundering. With each piece of detailed proof of criminality Schmidt attempted to play naive, explaining that those implicated in the mounting scandal were not significant players. When the news broke of John Weaver’s predatory behavior with young males, some being minors, and using his influence and power for personal gratification he was described by Schmidt as not being a major influence at TLP. This despite being a founder, and a regular name trotted out as one of their influencers.

Then as member Mike Madrid was shown to have been permissive with Weaver’s predations Schmidt explained that Madrid was basically a nobody, and not involved with the operations. One problem. During the glowing piece done on The Lincoln Project by ‘’60 Minutes’’ there was Madrid among the other heavy hitters, seated beside Schmidt. In one segment of this journalistic fluffer exercise, Madrid was depicted directing staff in their operations.  Then as Schmidt continued to claim ignorance it was exposed that not only were Weaver’s actions more widespread but that the leadership of TLP had been aware almost as far back as one year ago. Finally, Schmidt surrendered and resigned last week.

One of the amusing attempts at eliding responsibility is seen from George Conway. The man who has been possibly the shrillest critic of President Trump recognized the brewing scandal and was the initial founder to leave the organization. He has been brashly critical of the group, as a way of showing he is not guilty, and claimed to not know about John Weaver’s activities. In a pathetically weak interview on ‘’Morning Joe,’’ Conway said he barely even knew John Weaver.

He barely knew the man with whom he co-founded The Lincoln Project. The two of them wrote an op-ed together in The New York Times. He was the first rat to jump ship, now attempting to mock those remaining rats adrift on the flotsam. This is the kind of lame excuse-making we are seeing from a variety of characters who were trumpeting this corrupt group of shady scammers.

Jennifer Rubin is being mocked today for wanting to appear stern in her call to disband the outfit. She has been a longtime cheerleader, even as recently as a few weeks ago. Conservative voice and avowed Never Trumper Heath Mayo tried walking back his longtime support of the group. Kurt Bardella was a connected figure now also trying to evade accountability, attempting to position himself as reasonable, and not responsible. Along the way he stealthily erased his bio so his Senior Advisor title is no longer visible.

''Quick, Robin — to the Memory Hole!'' https://t.co/1h3ZskVoI2

— Brad Slager – In An Augur Roll (@MartiniShark) February 20, 2021

None of these people, and the numerous others who put down pompoms in order to write enthusiastic praises of these grifters, should be excused. They permitted not only bad-faith activities made in the name of turning a profit but they coddled a group that knowingly allowed a predator to rampage for at least a year. There are multiple reasons not to grant blanket excusals.

These actions and the gutter-level character of The Lincoln Project was not a sudden discovery. Many of us have been reporting on their scam and activities, telling these very voices they were backing a corrupt group. They knew, but the endgame was more important. As for their character, the TLP gang were the first to leap and accuse Trump, and others of any manner of questionable behavior, often in vitriolic and vulgar terms. These hoods would never dream of forgiveness themselves, as they engaged in far worse behavior.

These are also the people who after the election loss did not stop with their attacks, as they pledged to go after anyone with a connection to Trump. They promised to chase away anyone with a connection, and drew up blacklists of names. They even doxxed the law firm members retained for his election challenge. Now these same types are looking to extract themselves from any connection to the toxic organization they adored and supported.

Forgiveness is a process that first involves the guilty noting their guilt and looking to amend their actions. We are not seeing this today, instead we are being given a false condemnation from the involved parties as a way of pretending they were not also responsible. They are insisting on a level of exemption from the guilt they have never been willing to grant to others. 

It will not be arriving, and they should be constantly reminded of their willingness going forward. They encouraged a poisonous character to grow, and it shielded disgusting actions behind the scenes all the while. Accountability is required in the days ahead.