Republican group launches ad campaign calling for witnesses in impeachment trial

An anti-Trump group of Republicans will be running an ad campaign calling for witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial starting Thursday morning.

Republicans for the Rule of Law have funded three ads that will air dozens of times in the D.C. area across Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and CNBC on Thursday and Friday, rotating which ads are shown on each of the networks every hour. The ads are part of its $1 million campaign pushing for a fair impeachment trial. 

One of the ads pushes for the Senate to call President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former national security adviser John Bolton to testify, instructing viewers to call their senators. 

The other two focus exclusively on Bolton, with one saying, “He’s willing to do his duty to tell the truth. Are Senate Republicans willing to do their duty to listen?”

The group is also promoting these ads on digital platforms in its “target states” Arkansas, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Tennessee and Washington, D.C.

Digital billboards will also appear online in these states through Sunday.

Republicans for the Rule of Law spokesman Chris Truax said in a press release that the group has been pressuring the Senate to hold a fair trial with witnesses, saying “America deserves to see all the evidence.”

“Now it’s decision time and Senate Republicans will come face-to-face with their constitutional responsibilities this Friday when they vote on calling witnesses,” Truax said. “They can honor their oath to do impartial justice and vote for transparency and openness. Or they can shove their fingers in their ears and try to hide the facts from both themselves and their constituents.”

The Senate is expected to vote on Friday on whether to permit witnesses in the trial.

Updated: 5:54 p.m.