GOP Group to Run Anti-Trump Ads on 'Fox & Friends' Rebuking White House for Blocking Testimony of Key Impeachment Witnesses

Conservative group Republicans for the Rule of Law (RRL) is expected to begin a new advertising campaign on Fox & Friends next Tuesday questioning the White House's decision to block key witnesses from testifying during the impeachment hearings.

"The impeachment hearings in the House of Representatives have presented startling evidence that the President of the United States abused his power, strong-arming a foreign government to interfere on his behalf in the upcoming election, and damaging national security in the process," said RRL Executive Director Sarah Longwell in a statement. "The president denies the allegations, but won't let key administration officials—including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney—testify to Congress."

"If the president did nothing wrong, what does he have to hide?" the statement continued. "If they tell the truth, what is he afraid of? Most importantly, will Republicans in Congress allow the president to simply ignore their constitutionally mandated oversight role?"

The new advertisement ends with the words, "What is Trump afraid of?"

RRL describes itself as "a coalition of Republicans who believe law enforcement investigations should be completed without political interference, the laws apply equally to everyone, and the Constitution needs to be followed" on its website.

So far, RRL has sponsored more than 50 advertisements on Fox News since its founding in March 2018 after the press reported President Donald Trump's intention to fire Robert Mueller, the special counsel who investigated allegations that Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential election. Because of the wide audience and demographical range Fox News hits, RRL told Newsweek it prefers to run its messages on that network.

In a statement, Longwell said Trump's abuse of his presidential powers was shown by the testimonies in the impeachment hearings.

"Rather than fulfilling his oath to defend the Constitution, he tried to use the power of the government to strong-arm a friendly government into interfering on his behalf in the 2020 election," Longwell stated last week. "If the Republican Party claims to stand for national security, law and order, the rule of law, and accountable government, they can't let this abuse stand."

Trump has repeatedly denied that he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate presidential candidate Joe Biden in return for funding.

"The call to the Ukrainian President was PERFECT," Trump tweeted earlier this month. "Read the Transcript! There was NOTHING said that was in any way wrong. Republicans, don't be led into the fools trap of saying it was not perfect, but it is not impeachable. No, it was stronger than that. NOTHING WAS DONE WRONG!"