EXCLUSIVE: Judge Approves Restraining Order Against Lincoln Project Co-Founder Steve Schmidt
The soon-to-be ex-wife of Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt was granted a temporary restraining order against the political operative, court records obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller show.
Angela Schmidt filed for the restraining order on Aug. 15 in a Summit, Utah, state court, according to a case history of the Schmidts’ divorce. It was modified and granted on Oct. 16, according to the case history, obtained by the Daily Caller. Since the restraining order was granted, Schmidt has repeatedly accused Republican media figures and candidates of acting inappropriately towards women.
Details of the underlying behavior that led to the court issuance of the restraining order are not publicly available. However, under Utah state law, individuals going through divorce and child custody proceedings may request a restraining order with the court. The orders are only granted when the individual taking out the order will face “irreparable harm unless the court issues an order.” Judges are allowed to grant the orders at their own discretion and are not required to alert the subject of the order.
View the case history here:
Schmidt TRO Information-1 by Michael Ginsberg on Scribd
Angela Schmidt did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment on the matter.
The TRO is the latest accusation of Schmidt behaving inappropriately with women. Several news outlets have reported that the longtime operative has berated reporters and campaign staffers. Schmidt drew a rebuke from the Coalition for Women in Journalism in March after he published messages with New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman. Schmidt compared Haberman to former Times reporter and Soviet Union propagandist Walter Duranty, and Haberman accused Schmidt of “menacing” and “harassing” her “on Twitter and on text.”
“The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the incident and demands that Steve Schmidt offers an apology, not just for his unprofessional opinion but also for his latest attempt to bully Maggie Haberman on social media. CFWIJ has routinely reported on how quickly social media and digital space can be weaponized against women journalists, and Schmidt’s decision to release private correspondence in order to expose some ‘rot’ appears to be an attempt to do just that,” the organization said in a statement.
Schmidt’s organization, The Lincoln Project, was also a hotbed of harassment and misconduct, according to a report from The 19th. Schmidt reportedly believed that the campaign ad shop was a way to generate “inter-generational wealth,” but the group devolved amid infighting and allegations that cofounder John Weaver sexually harassed young men. Employees frequently referred to women as “girls,” and their enemies as “pussies,” “cocksuckers,” or “faggots,” the report adds.
Schmidt resigned from the board of the Lincoln Project in February 2021.
Steve Schmidt could not be reached for comment at phone numbers publicly listed under his name.
Schmidt turned on the late Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain, whose 2008 presidential campaign he ran. The operative told Politico in May that he did not vote for McCain, believing him “unfit” for office. He called the senator’s daughter, conservative commentator Meghan McCain, “rotten, entitled, spoiled, cruel, mean and bullying,” and favorably contrasted his interactions with her to those between Trump White House officials John Kelly, James Mattis, and HR McMaster and the children of the 45th president.
Currently employed by Democratic Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan’s failed Senate campaign, Schmidt repeatedly accused Republican opponent JD Vance of supporting domestic abuse. Vance said during a speech to a southern California high school that increased levels of divorce stemming from the sexual revolution negatively impact kids.
“This is one of the great tricks that I think the sexual revolution pulled on the American populace, which is the idea that like, ‘well, OK, these marriages were fundamentally, you know, they were maybe even violent, but certainly they were unhappy. And so getting rid of them and making it easier for people to shift spouses like they change their underwear, that’s going to make people happier in the long term,’” Vance said, according to Vice News.
Schmidt frequently referenced the reported remarks on Twitter, including after his ex-wife took out the restraining order.
“I really think most normal people don’t think women who are beaten should stay married to the men who beat, shoot, stab, burn and torture them. JD Vance proves this theory. He wants the beaten women to stick around for the next beating. It’s extreme and sick. It’s disqualifyin[g],” Schmidt tweeted on Nov. 4.
I really think most normal people don’t think women who are beaten should stay married to the men who beat, shoot, stab, burn and torture them. @JDVance1 proves this theory.
He wants the beaten women to stick around for the next beating. It’s extreme and sick. It’s disqualifyin https://t.co/OsJZXK24Bf
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) November 5, 2022
Schmidt also referenced sexual harassment allegations levied against the late Fox News CEO Roger Ailes and other Republicans.
“I used to be smuggled into Fox News for secret meetings with Ailes. Same elevator he abused the women out of,” he claimed on Nov. 2.
“Violence against women is a very specific type of crime. It is almost always perpetrated by men, usually a family member,” Schmidt said in a tweet thread about Missouri GOP Senate candidate Eric Greitens.
AUTHOR
MICHAEL GINSBERG
Congressional correspondent.
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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.
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