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Anatomy of a Scene

Writer's picture: Kevin Huffman Kevin Huffman


The Lincoln Project series follows the remarkable work of a castoff group of Republican political operatives during the 2020 election. The documentary team embedded with the Lincoln Project, filming and collecting hundreds of hours of footage during the final months of the campaign.


The initial goal was celebratory – the film would culminate with the outcome of the election and Biden’s inauguration. However, behind the scenes, serious trouble was brewing. John Weaver, one of the Lincoln Project founders, had offered internships to at least 21 young men in exchange for sex, with one of them being just 14 years old. A handful of the founders were aware of the allegations, and the filmmakers had the receipts to prove it.


One staffer, Conor Rogers, featured here in this clip, had warned the founders of Weaver’s behavior, and his interview about it is a powerful moment in the film. Rogers was himself a victim of Weaver’s manipulations when he was starting out in the business.


This excerpt is taken from the penultimate episode of the series. It’s January 2021, and The New York Times has just posted a story that reported on the extent of Weaver’s depravity. Now the chickens were coming home to roost. Who knew what? When did they know? How was this covered up? What else was going on behind the scenes?


Directors Fisher Stevens and Karim Amer wisely continued filming during January of 2020, and, amazingly, the principal characters continued to talk.


Weaving (pun intended) the various strands of the story was a challenge. We decided to frame most of the exposition about the scandal around scenes of Conor and his co-worker Lily walking around DC as the news broke.


That gave the scene momentum and a present-day, in-the-moment narrative.

What followed were Conor’s startling revelations and hard evidence that refuted the leadership’s account of the Weaver story. We call them on the carpet. And this being politics, the knives are out. The Lincoln Project founders and staffers are cutting each other to bits, and the conservative press is having a field day with the scandal.


There is also an inherent sadness about the whole sordid affair. Here was a group of dedicated people taking a stand on principle to fight Trump, and they are being destroyed by the very type of scandal they accused him of being engaged in.


There are no winners here. Still, it’s a great scene. Kudos to Fisher, Karim, Alex Hyde, editor Chris White, and the whole team.

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