Podcasting, consulting and a B-movie horror director: The Lincoln Project's spending is telling

The Lincoln Project rose to fame as the tip of the spear of the anti-Donald Trump resistance: a group of disaffected Republicans committed to taking down the then president.

In the years since Trump left office, it has morphed into a content farm.

During the first six months of 2023, the super PAC doled out more than $265,000 on podcasting expenses, $218,000 went to a creative content firm owned by a horror movie screenwriter and another $100,000 was spent on a self-identified “corporate comedy” firm. The group spent thousands of dollars on advertising award submissions and a contest for its web ads, for which, it should be noted, garnered two prizes.

Of the $3.5 million amount it doled out from January to June 2023, only $100,000 was for online and digital advertising, according to its latest financial disclosures released on Monday.

The disclosures underscore the changing nature of the Lincoln Project, which, from a strictly financial perspective, has been one of the most successful super PACs in history. Once regarded in liberal circles as a brass-knuckled anti-Trump force, it has, over time, endured persistent criticism for, among other things, a sexual harassment scandal,evidence of self-dealing on the part of the co-founders and comments seen as rooting for Trump to be the Republican nominee again.

Despite it all, the organization still brought in $3.6 million in the first half of the off year. The Lincoln Project declined to comment on the record about its spending.

Here are some of the Lincoln Project’s most interesting expenditures from the first half of 2023.

Podcasting, comedy, and a horror director

In its expanding media production, The Lincoln Project has invested $265,000 to produce a podcast named after itself with the company Podcast Village. The podcast, which started in 2021, is currently ranked No. 26 in the Apple Charts in the politics category. The Lincoln Project has spent $1.2 million on podcast services with the DC-based firm since late 2020, according to its disclosure to the FEC.

The Lincoln Project has also continued its relationship with We Laugh Harder, comedian Maya May’s firm that combines stand-up comedy with corporate problem solving. The PAC and May’s firm have worked together since 2021, including co-hosting a Ted Talk together. In the first six months of 2023, the group spent $100,000 on We Laugh Harder’s communication services.

An additional $218,000 was directed to the Manhattan Creative Group, the firm of horror movie writer and director Joseph Wartnerchaney, who is best known for the 2015 thriller “Decay.” Manhattan Creative Group was billed for media production services but explicitly not related to any independent expenditures.

Rick Wilson paid his son for consulting

In the first quarter of 2023, The Lincoln Project didn’t dispel any of the old accusations that it favored contractors with connections to the group. Senior adviser Joe Trippi saw more than $300,000 worth of work paid out to his firm, Lever Communications. The firm, of the longtime Democratic consultant, did digital production and digital services work.

The Lincoln Project also brought on one of the founder’s sons, Andrew Wilson, as an independent contractor responsible for corporate campaign management.

The original operatives who founded the organization in 2019 became a magnet that attracted $90 million, and subsequently $50 million found its way to firms connected to the owners, according to an investigation by the AP.

A settlement with an Abraham Lincoln impersonator

The Lincoln Project also continued its payouts to the original Lincoln Project this year with a $25,000 payment to Abraham Lincoln impersonator Chris Small. Small has been operating an educational Lincoln-themed company since 2003 and, in 2020, filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to try and block the super PAC from trademarking the name.

The PAC has paid Small $150,000 since 2022 under the memo line, “legal payout.”

Entry fees for awards

To continue the stream of political ad-making accolades, The Lincoln Project spent thousands of dollars submitting its advertising for prizes in the first half of 2023.

The PAC also spent almost $12,000 on event tickets to the Webby Awards, which are dedicated to awarding “excellence on the Internet,” this year. In return it took home two prizes for a series of ads to drum up support for the war in Ukraine and an ad for Holocaust Remembrance Day.

It also submitted ads to the Clio awards for a $1,800 fee and $4,500 to the American Association Of Political Consultants awards.

Marc Elias is out with Biden but in with The Lincoln Project

The Lincoln Project has also continued its relationship with Elias Law Group, spending more than $40,000 on the preeminent Democratic law firm's services.

This comes after both the Democratic National Committee and the Joe Biden reelection campaign are getting their legal services elsewhere. Axios reported that Biden’s team had disagreements on Marc Elias’ aggressive litigiousness and a lack of communication on cases being filed for other clients.

Several Democratic groups and many candidates continue to use Elias Law Group, but the DNC parted ways with the lawyer after a nearly 14-year-long relationship.