A pro-Trump super PAC is running a new ad in local cable markets calling for four members of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team to be fired, and a PAC call center staffer told ThinkProgress on Thursday that the group, Great America Alliance, believes Mueller should be fired as well.
The new ad is similar to one the PAC began running this summer featuring conservative commentator Tomi Lahren.
“Who does Mueller select to help lead the ‘independent’ investigation?” Lahren asks. “Four top lawyers, all major donors to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and the Democratic national party… Only in Washington could a rigged game like this be called ‘independent.’”
The new ad ends with a phone number viewers can call to “demand” Mueller fire the “Clinton four.” A recorded message says, “Thank you for calling to demand Mueller fire the Clinton four” and asks the caller to listen to an important message from Lahren.
“We must and will show support for President Trump,” Lahren says in the recording. “We cannot win this fight without support from patriot supporters like you… Can we count on you to support President Trump’s presidency?”
Lahren asks callers to press one to donate or two to proceed. If you press two, there’s another message from Lahren who again asks for a donation, saying, “I understand a donation is a lot to ask for but now is our time to stand up and support President Trump.” The caller is again asked to press one to donate and two to proceed. If you press two, the call ends.
If you press one, you’re taken to the PAC’s call center. When ThinkProgress called, a staffer named Nancy picked up. She told ThinkProgress the ad just started running — “because of everything that has been going on” — though she didn’t know the exact date when the ads began.
“They’re calling for [Mueller] to be fired as well the four,” Nancy said when asked if the group believed Mueller should be fired as well.
Unprompted, Nancy added, “We were the organization that ran all those ads for Donald Trump to help get him elected.” Nancy added that their ad campaign “broke records.”
Mueller is currently investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and the possibility of Trump campaign collusion with the Kremlin during the election. Four Trump allies have been indicted so far as part of the investigation, which Trump has consistently called a “witch hunt.”
The administration and some Congressional Republicans have argued Mueller’s team is biased against Trump, and Great America Alliance isn’t the only group calling for Mueller to be fired. On Wednesday, some House Republicans called for an inquiry into Mueller’s team, and anchors on Fox News, Trump’s favorite channel, have also been laying the groundwork for Trump to fire the special counsel.
UPDATE: A spokesperson for Fox News, Lahren’s current employer, reached out to ThinkProgress to say that Lahren recorded her portion of the ad prior to being hired by Fox News.