Republicans for the Rule of Law is the principal initiative of the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, anti-

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

political group Defending Democracy Together, founded by Bill Kristol,

Mona Charen Mona Charen Parker (; born February 25, 1957) is a columnist, journalist, and political commentator in the United States. She has written three books: ''Useful Idiots: How Liberals Got it Wrong in the Cold War and Still Blame America First'' (200 ...

Linda Chavez Linda Lou ChavezStated on ''Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'', May 20, 2012, PBS (born June 17, 1947) is an American author, commentator, and radio talk show host. She is also a Fox News analyst, Chairman of the Center for Equal ...

, Sarah Longwell, and Andy Zwick in 2019. The project, a

501(c)(4) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes. ...

(social welfare) group, created an advertising campaign to pressure Republican members of Congress to "demand the facts" about the Trump-Ukraine scandal during the

impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump The inquiry process which preceded the first impeachment of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States, was initiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on September 24, 2019, after a whistleblower alleged that Donald Trump may have ab ...

Group

The group describes itself as "life-long Republicans dedicated to defending the institutions of our republic and upholding the rule of law" and primarily consists of traditionally Republican lawyers. The group's legal advisory board includes

Charles Fried Charles Anthony Fried (born April 15, 1935) is an American jurist and lawyer. He served as United States Solicitor General under President Ronald Reagan from 1985 to 1989. He is a professor at Harvard Law School and has been a visiting profess ...

, who served as

U.S. Solicitor General The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represent ...

under Ronald Reagan, Wendell Willkie II, grandson of 1940 Republican presidential nominee

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...

and Chris Truax, the group's spokesman. Former Republican U.S. Senator

Slade Gorton Thomas Slade Gorton III (January 8, 1928 – August 19, 2020) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Washington from 1981 to 1987 and again from 1989 until 2001. A member of the Republican Party, he hel ...

of Washington state also served on the group's board.

Ad campaign

As the movement to impeach Trump got underway, the group spent over $1 million running

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

advertisements on

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

and

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

, calling on Republicans to "demand the facts" about Trump and Ukraine. The ad campaign, which included digital as well as television advertising, targeted a dozen Republican Senators as well as House swing districts currently represented by Republicans, including

Fred Upton Frederick Stephen Upton (born April 23, 1953) is an American politician serving as a U.S. representative from Michigan since 1987, representing the state's 6th congressional district since 1993. He is a member of the Republican Party. His dist ...

(Michigan), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania),

Will Hurd William Ballard Hurd (born August 19, 1977) is an American politician and former CIA clandestine officer who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 23rd congressional district from 2015 to 2021. The district stretched approximately from ...

(Texas),

Jaime Herrera Beutler Jaime Lynn Herrera Beutler ( ; born November 3, 1978) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. The district is in southwestern Washington, lying across the Columbia River from Oregon's Portland met ...

(Washington), and

Mark Amodei Mark Eugene Amodei ( ; born June 12, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Nevada's 2nd congressional district since 2011. The only Republican in Nevada's congressional delegation since 2019, Amodei ...

(Nevada). The group's ad campaigns also accuse Trump of abusing his office to enrich himself, citing Trump's attempt to hold the 2020 G7 summit at Trump's own Doral resort, and encourage Republicans to publicly oppose Trump's efforts to solicit foreign interference in U.S. elections. The ads air on programs that attract Republican voters, including ''

Fox & Friends ''Fox & Friends'' is an American daily morning news and talk program that airs on Fox News. It premiered on February 1, 1998, and is currently hosted by Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade on weekdays. Will Cain, Rachel Campos- ...

.'' ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' columnist Jennifer Rubin calls the ads "devastating" to Trump's credibility.

Affiliated organizations

In 2020, the organization launched

Republican Voters Against Trump Republican Accountability Project (RAP), formerly Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT), is a political initiative launched in May 2020 by Defending Democracy Together for the 2020 U.S. presidential election cycle. The project was formed to pro ...

for the 2020 U.S. presidential election cycle.

References

{{reflist

External links

Defending Democracy TogetherRepublicans for the Rule of Law''Republicans for the Rule of Law'' YouTube channel
501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations Republican Party (United States) organizations Never Trump movement Political organizations established in 2019 2019 establishments in the United States

Group

Ad campaign

Affiliated organizations

See also

References

External links