Former Lincoln Project lawyer Mario Nicolais published a completely non-ironic editorial in the Colorado Sun lecturing readers on what he views as the relationship between “political extremism” and unethical behavior in politics.
The Never-Trump operative attempted to link Denver Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca’s long history of ethical problems to a few frivolous criticisms of U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert.
The editorial itself is rather unremarkable, except for the fact Nicolais decided now was a good time to opine on matters of ethics.
Nicolais knows a thing or two about ethical lapses, considering he actually served as lead counsel for the Lincoln Project last year.
The controversial PAC has been in the news quite a bit recently after reports revealed a cover-up of sexual harassment allegations against one of their co-founders.
The Lincoln Project also had intimate financial ties with the contractors it paid money to. Reed Galen collected a commission on the $13.3 million the Lincoln Project paid to one ad maker. The governance of the organization was an ethical disaster, with contractors who got paid also getting seats on the board of directors. The nominal management of the organization was often kept in the dark about the financial dealings of the four founders.
Beyond the self-dealing, the Lincoln Project covered up serious sexual harassment allegations against one of the founders, John Weaver. The New York Times spoke “to more than 25 people who received harassing messages, including one person who was 14 when Mr. Weaver first contacted him.”
The Lincoln Project’s ethics problems have become so bad, co-founder George Conway recently called for the group to be entirely dissolved.
Yet amid all the furor, Nicolais still proudly highlights his Lincoln Project work on LinkedIn.
Pro-tip: if you worked for an organization that fleeced small dollar donors under false pretenses and covered up for a sexual predator, you probably should take that off of your profile.
Nicolais appropriately concluded his self-righteous diatribe by proclaiming “Colorado deserves elected officials who prioritize ethical service.”
We’d politely suggest he look in the mirror.