Billionaire Tom Steyer directly rebuked the cancellation in a statement released Friday. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Steyer claims breach of contract after Fox News pulls his Trump impeachment ads

Billionaire political donor and activist Tom Steyer has accused Fox News of breaching its contract to air ads on the network calling for President Donald Trump's impeachment, according to a letter sent to the network by Steyer's legal team.

Brad Deutsch, a lawyer for the California philanthropist and prominent Democratic booster, called Fox News' decision to pull the 60-second TV spot that began airing in October "baseless and unethical" in a memo addressed to Fox News co-president Jack Abernethy on Nov. 3.


Deutsch wrote that the network had "unconditionally" agreed on Oct. 27 to air the ads another week and that the move to pull them signaled "a profound failure of journalistic integrity, a suppression of constitutionally protected speech, and likely a consequence of inexcusable political pressure."

Fox News cited concerns over the response from their viewership in moving to cancel the ads last week.

“Due to the strong negative reaction to their ad by our viewers, we could not in good conscience take their money," Abernethy said in a statement provided to POLITICO.

The spot, part of an ad buy of more than $10 million by Steyer calling for the president's impeachment, slammed Trump for bringing the U.S. “to the brink of nuclear war” with North Korea and for potentially "obstructing justice” by firing former FBI Director James Comey in May as he conducted a federal probe into potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives.

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Trump personally pushed back against the impeachment call from the California billionaire on Twitter on Oct. 27.

“Wacky & totally unhinged Tom Steyer, who has been fighting me and my Make America Great Again agenda from beginning, never wins elections!” Trump tweeted, shortly after the ad had aired on "Fox & Friends," which the president frequently watches.

The timing of Trump's tweet, which came just prior to the ad's cancellation, did not go unchallenged by Steyer's legal team.

"It is no coincidence that the Cancellation of the Advertisement, in the second week of its run, came on the heels of a tweet from President Trump, criticizing the spot and Mr. Steyer personally," Deutsch wrote in his letter to Fox.

Steyer directly rebuked the cancellation in a statement released Friday.

"Millions of Americans have raised their voices in opposition to Donald Trump," Steyer said. "If Fox News is siding with Trump and trying to silence us, they must be afraid of what we have to say. It shows no respect for democracy."

Congressional Democratic leaders have resisted joining Steyer in calls to impeach Trump. Asked about Steyer's ad and whether Democrats would prioritize impeachment proceedings if they were to retake a majority in Congress, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Sunday said, "It's not someplace that I think we should go."