The ads, calling for John Koskinen's impeachment will start Tuesday and air nationwide in every congressional district. | Getty GOP mega-donors ready new IRS impeachment ads

A new conservative outside group with deep pockets is planning a robust ad campaign urging Congress to impeach the IRS commissioner — a move sure to cause GOP leaders some headaches this fall.

Founded by GOP mega-donor Todd Ricketts, 45Committee will spend nearly $1 million on a week’s worth of cable TV and digital ads encouraging voters to pressure Congress to impeach tax chief John Koskinen.


Officials at the tax-exempt 501(c)(4), run by family owners of the Chicago Cubs, told POLITICO the ads will start Tuesday and air nationwide in every congressional district, from FOX to MSNBC to CNN and more. More could follow, they added, in an effort to keep the issue front and center.

The IRS “targeted conservatives, lied about it, got caught, ignored subpoenas, stonewalled and improperly deleted emails,” says a voice-over accompanied by dramatic violin strings in the ad.

“The White house won’t act, so we must call the House of Representatives and tell them to vote to impeach the IRS Commissioner Koskinen now — for fairness, for justice, for reform,” it continues.

A congressional directory phone number appears on the screen following pictures of Koskinen testifying before a House panel.

It's a somewhat ironic twist for the Ricketts family: Just two months ago, the family’s Ending Spending PAC successfully “primaried” ultra-conservative Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kans.) — taking out one of the most well-known members of the House Freedom Caucus who helped drive out ex-Speaker John Boehner.

Many establishment Republicans privately applauded the group for doing so.

Now, however, the same family is supporting the Freedom Caucus’ cause du jour, running ads that are sure to make Hill leaders and establishment-types squirm.

POLITICO reported in late September that the Ricketts family was pitching the same outside group as a haven for mega-donors to secretly support Donald Trump without disclosing their names. Now they're wading into the IRS fight.

"The abuse of power by the Obama Administration has gone on long enough,” said 45Committee president Brian Baker, who also runs Ending Spending. “With members of Congress returning to their districts, we wanted to remind them, and their constituents, that it is time to put a stop to the arrogance, to the deceit, and to the dysfunction at the IRS.”

Most Republicans in the House and Senate don’t want to impeach Koskinen because they don’t believe his actions constitute “high treason” — the requirement for such severe punishment.

While many conservatives have accused Koskinen of lying to Congress and even destroying evidence, there has never been any proof that Koskinen knew subpoenaed emails were being erased on his watch. And critics of the idea worry impeaching an agency head for incompetence will lower the bar for impeachment in the future.

But voting against impeachment isn’t easy for any Republican. Conservatives will spin any vote against impeachment as a vote to protect the IRS, which is that last thing Republicans wants to be accused of doing.

Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) agreed to hold off on any impeachment vote until after Election Day in order to secure another Koskinen impeachment hearing in the Judiciary Committee. Now, the group will push for a full Judiciary Committee vote on impeachment.

House moderates are crossing their fingers that conservatives don't try to force the impeachment vote on the floor. The new ad, however, will surely keep the matter in the headlines a bit longer.