Ted Cruz on Tape

The Cruz Tapes

My latest newsletter has Ted Cruz on tape…

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Ted Cruz Admits It

Fox News folded in its defamation case because of evidence. It was bad, and undeniable.

Fox fired its top-rated anchor Tucker Carlson for similar reasons — evidence from that case (and more)

So what started as a business dispute — Dominion seeking damages from Fox — has grown into something larger. Fox has now paid over $700 million; ousted more than one anchor in connection with the case (Carlson, Dobbs); arguably tried to course-correct from at least the costly parts of election defamation; and Fox and its guests now face more lawsuits that follow this blueprint or precedent. That includes other defamation cases, (which I’ve mentioned in this newsletter). Now it also includes a separate case from Carlson producer turned whistleblower, Abby Grossberg.

And that brings us to Ted Cruz’s efforts to overthrow the 2020 election.

David Byrne famously asked how he got here, a relatable question.

“How did I get here?”

By the way, this arcane legal path is more than some “backstory” we might get in a West Wing episode, or Jonathan Franzen novel. It speaks to the stark power of the court system — even with its many flaws — and how hard evidence can take on a life of its own. Some of that evidence helped get Tucker fired and continues to haunt Fox.

Other evidence is putting new heat on Sen. Ted Cruz — including from Special Counsel Jack Smith himself.

Secret tapes revealed by the Fox producer show:

• Cruz knew there were not demonstrable facts to justify reversing the election

• Cruz knew the courts were rejecting Trump’s challenges

• Cruz tried to overthrow the results anyway

• Cruz plotted and pushed a (failed) plan to have Republicans hijack the election with a fake “commission” that would try to seize power from Pres.-Elect Biden

Some of that was known publicly at the time, some of it was not; and the tapes add important details and context.

Here is what Cruz said, on a private call he didn’t know would ever go public, to Fox host Maria Bartiromo in November 2020 — stressing how facts are needed to prove any election claims in court:

“It can’t just be, you know, ‘somebody tweeted this.’ It’s got to be demonstrable facts that can be laid out with evidence — because that’s what a court of law is gonna look to, not just an allegation, but actual facts... that’s what it’s gonna take to prevail in court.”

True.

Trump did not prevail in court. But by Jan. 6, 2021, Cruz was opposing the certification of Pres. Elect Biden and saying this in public, on the floor:

“I want to speak to the Republicans who are considering voting against these objections. I understand your concerns, but I urge you pause and think — what does it say to the nearly half the country that believes this election was rigged, if we vote not even to consider the claims of illegality and fraud in this election?”

Cruz used his power to try to stop the valid election outcome.

In another Fox tape, Cruz says, “I would have rather seen these facts developed in a court of law, but unfortunately, the courts that heard these cases,” he says, referencing those Trump losses. And four days before the insurrection, he tells her about his plan to install a commission to steal the race from Biden.

So: Cruz tells Bartiromo that there need to be actual facts that can hold up in a court of law. He then tells her that the courts have heard these cases, and ruled against Trump. He then goes out in public to steal the very election outcome supported by the facts and the courts, and plots to overthrow the results days before Jan. 6.

We broke the news of these tapes on The Beat, which sparked headlines:

Melber on MSNBC Airs Bombshell Audio Showing Cruz Scheming to steal election (Daily Beast)
Audio of Cruz’s talk with Fox host sheds light on plan to challenge results (WashPo)

As they say, Lordy, there are tapes.

Cruz declined our initial request for an interview or comment. Then he responded to our report with this tweet:

Cruz refers to me as a clown (via emoji), and stresses that much of his plan had been public. In other words, he admits to the underlying conduct. That is telling.

As for his journalistic critique, the fact that part of the plot was public is no defense to its authoritarian and possibly illegal qualities. The Washington Post reported that the tapes add context, while, as we noted, the efforts to overthrow the election were known in January (we all saw the certification vote and insurrection):

The recording.. largely mirrors previous reports and public statements made by Cruz about efforts to overturn the election results. But the tape, featuring a previously private conversation among Cruz, Grossberg and Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo on the push to deny the certification, sheds new light on the scope of Cruz’s scheming to assist Trump in overturning Biden’s victory.

That scheming is under more scrutiny now.

Evidence Travels

The Cruz Tapes, and any others like them, add evidence to the record about the failed coup and insurrection.

Those plots are still under criminal investigation.

The next question is whether any investigators want these tapes. Recently I spoke with the ex-Fox producer’s lawyer, Gerry Filippatos, and asked about that.

He broke the news that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office requested the tapes, and they are cooperating.

They’ve already “surrendered the descriptions of all of the tapes we have,” he told me on The Beat.

That puts Cruz’s words and actions under review at DOJ.

And the news which broke on The Beat is making separate headlines back in Texas, too. (e.g. Ted Cruz Fox Tapes Handed to DOJ, Houston Chronicle)

The Truth Doesn’t Always Win, But it Fights

So from Dominion’s case to Fox’s penalty to Tucker’s firing to Cruz’s revelations… it’s a lot.

The truth doesn’t always get out, or win, but it sure can endure, and fight. And sometimes it does win.

It’s no surprise that its enemies want to deny that — to appeal to lies and cynicism, to demotivate people out in the truth and reality-based community (to paraphrase Karl Rove’s derisive phrase). But lately, they’ve been on quite a losing streak.

And many of these losses can’t be overthrown by lies or a fake commission, much as Ted Cruz might wish that were the case.

P.S. Do you think the Dominion case against Fox has had a wide impact?

What else do you think the courts can do to uphold truth and fairness in these polarized times? I’ll answer some people in the comments per usual, thanks for reading and supporting my work! -Ari