Republican Group Urges GOP Lawmakers To Stand Up To Trump During Impeachment

With public impeachment hearings set to begin this week, a Republican group is urging GOP lawmakers to stand up to President Donald Trump as some in the party did to President Richard M. Nixon during Watergate.

“History Is Watching” is the title of a new commercial from Republicans for the Rule of Law , a GOP group critical of Trump. The spot highlights comments from Republican lawmakers such as Rep. Lawrence Hogan (R-Md.) who took on Nixon during Watergate hearings.

“When Nixon abused the power of the presidency, there were those who defended the president,” the voiceover notes. “Others defended the Constitution.”

The ad is set to run on Wednesday morning the day of the first public hearings in Washington during “Fox & Friends,” reputed to be Trump’s favorite show, and promoted digitally in the home districts of GOP lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee.

Chris Truax, the group’s spokesperson, said Republicans who stood against Nixon were “remembered for their courage and integrity.”

“History has not been kind to their colleagues who buried their heads in the sand and refused to acknowledge the facts,” Truax said. “Republicans should study the lessons of Watergate very closely.”

The House Intelligence Committee is investigating Trump’s attempt to pressure Ukraine by withholding aid to get the country to investigate his political rivals. 

“We have enough evidence from the depositions that we’ve done to warrant bringing this forward evidence of an extortion scheme using taxpayer dollars to ask a foreign government to investigate the president’s opponent,” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), told CBS’ “Face The Nation” on Sunday.

Hearings are set for Wednesday and Friday.