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Ben Ferguson
Welcome. It is verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. And we have got a lot to talk about today, Senator. And I want to give a roadmap for people because there's so much news happening. First off, a big victory. And we're going to get to this first dealing with a nomination, someone from the Biden administration that's actually been pulled. You're going to give that update. Plus what's going on in Mexico with the four Americans that were taken hostage. Two of them have died. We also have another issue with Fauci emails. And finally January the six. Senator, let's start with this big information, big news. A victory of the fact that President Biden's nomination of Gigi Son to serve as a Commissioner of the U.S. federal Communications Commission as the FCC has been pulled. How did we get there? I know that's something you talked about on this show early on and we're leading the way saying she was not qualified.
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, this is a huge victory. So Joe Biden had nominated Gigi Sohn to be a commissioner of the fcc, the Federal Communications Commission. And many believe that Biden intended to name her the chairman of the commission if she had been confirmed. Gigi Sohn has been a left wing activist her entire life. She is a hardcore activist. She had repeatedly denounced Fox News as an enemy to democracy, as a threat to democracy. She had demonstrated a willingness to use the powers of the FCC to deny licenses and to otherwise use government power to silence conservative voices. And she had a remarkable pattern of just being a partisan activist. So, for example, there was a group called Fighting for Our Future that Gigi Sohn had supported for years. And every year she sent out tweets, fundraising for Fighting for Our Future. Now, Gigi did this even though the group Fighting for Our Future had a long standing practice of attacking multiple senators and multiple senators on the Commerce Committee. If you're nominated to be on the fcc, it's the Commerce Committee that has to confirm you. So Fighting for a Future had put out billboards attacking Senator Marsha Blackburn, who's on the Commerce Committee with me. They'd put out billboards attacking Senator Dan Sullivan, who's on the Commerce Committee with me. They had attacked Roger Wicker, who's the former chairman, former ranking member of the Commerce Committee. But interestingly enough, Ben, they hadn't just attacked Republicans, they'd attacked a bunch of Democrats. So they'd put up billboards saying John Tester, the Democrat senator from Montana is corrupt. They'd put up billboards saying Gary Peters, the Democrat Senator from Michigan is corrupt. They'd put up billboards saying, Kyrsten Sinema, the Democrat senator from Arizona, is corrupt. And amazingly enough, this group also sent a letter to Chuck Schumer in December of last year urging Schumer to fire Maria Cantwell, the Democrat who's the chairman of the committee, because the committee had yet to confirm Gigi Sohn. And after all of these solicitations, every year, Gigi Sohn would ask for people to contribute and support this. And so Gigi Sohn had three different confirmation hearings. The most recent one a couple of weeks ago. I'm the ranking member of the Commerce Committee. I led the fight against him. I walked her through each of these. I said, look, do you believe Jon Tester is corrupt? She says, no. Do you believe Gary Peters is corrupt? She says, no. Do you believe Kyrsten Sinema is corrupt? She says, no. Did you know this group was putting up these billboards and attacking these senators? And she said, well, I knew about the billboard attacking cinema. And I said, no. Did you raise money for her, for them after that? And she said, oh, yeah, completely unapologetically. I laughed. I said, look, I don't know in 10 years in the Senate that I've ever seen a nominee who supports a group that attacks half the senators on the committee that are supposed to confirm her. It was remarkable. Now, I'll tell you a funny epilogue to this. I said at the hearing, I said, listen, I. I'm kind of offended. Like, this group has attacked half the senators here, but they haven't attacked me. Like, what do I have to do to get this left wing group mad at me? I would have thought I have done sufficient to attract their ire. And I'm feeling kind of neglected here. Now this group, they heard what I said and I guess it prompted them to action. So they launched online a crowdfunding effort to raise money to put up a billboard attacking me. So the billboard has a picture of me and it has a website. Ted cruzhatesfreespeech.com.
Ben Ferguson
I'm sorry, I was not expecting that to be the name of the website, but go ahead.
Senator Ted Cruz
So set aside that if there's, I don't know that there's anything I love more than free speech.
Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
Senator Ted Cruz
Other than God, my family in America. But free speech is intimately intertwined with that. But here's the part that's beautiful, Ben. This left wing group, they're really partisan, but they're not very good. So they didn't actually buy the website. So the billboard that they were crowdfunding to raise. The website was still available, so I bought it. And so I now own the website. Ted cruzhatesfreespeech.com and I promptly turned it into a campaign fundraising website. And I tweeted out, said, hey, I really appreciate you guys putting this billboard up and urging people to go to this website to contribute to my Senate reelect. That's just an amazing thing.
Ben Ferguson
That might be the best investment you've ever made in any website ever. You may. You may have missed the investment window on some of the big stuff, but at least you got that website.
Senator Ted Cruz
It was really. So her record is extreme. It was. She is a partisan advocate, and Biden was giving in to the radical left by trying to name her to the FCC because I believe he wanted to use government power to silence conservative voters, to attack Fox News, to attack conservative outlets, and to advance an extreme partisan agenda. In the Commerce Committee. We managed to hold all the Republicans together, and multiple Democrats expressed skepticism. Well, today, midday, Joe Manchin put out a statement saying he was a no, he was voting no. And about an hour later, we got a formal announcement that Gigi Sohn was withdrawing her nomination. The White House was withdrawing her nomination. Now, I'll tell you, I was actually sitting at lunch with my colleagues. All the Republican senators have lunch together every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. So I was sitting at lunch at, like, 1:50pm the lunch typically runs from 12:30 to 2pm at, like, 1:50pm My staff director sends me a text and says, hey, we're hearing lots of rumors in town that Gigi Sohn is gonna withdraw. And I'm like, okay, great. How reliable are these rumors? Are they real? And he's like, well, it's kind of the lobby crew in town, but most of their rumors have been pretty accurate on this. And so I'm like, well, try to nail this down. I want to know for sure. And then at about 1:57. So about three minutes before the lunch is over, my guys send me a text of the media stories that had just broken, saying the White House had withdrawed her nomination. So I stood up at lunch. It was the very end of lunch, and I said, hey, just wanted everyone to let you know. The news just broke about two minutes ago. The White House has withdrawn Gigi Sohn's nomination. I'll tell you, the entire Republican conference broke out in applause.
Ben Ferguson
That's awesome.
Senator Ted Cruz
And I really. I gave a testament to all of the Republicans on the Commerce Committee who stayed united, who stayed focused, you know, in my new role as ranking member, we tried very hard to work with each of their teams to help each of the members focus on a different aspect of her record. But it was a comprehensive effort to make clear she is not. For someone on an independent agency like the fcc, you want someone fair. You want someone impartial, you want someone who will respect free speech. This was a nominee who was not. And as of today, this nomination has been defeated.
Ben Ferguson
It's a success story coming out of Washington that we wanted to make sure people knew about because this is what happens when people expose these individuals and let everybody know. And this podcast played a pivotal role in exposing who this nominee was and why they were not qualified. And this is a victory we should all enjoy.
Senator Ted Cruz
And the important thing, Ben, also to underscore, look, we beat her in a Democrat Senate, which means if it were just a party line vote, if it were just all the D's vote yes, all the R's vote no, she would have been confirmed. So to beat her, we held all the R's together, but we also picked off several D's. And actually, from what I'm hearing, there may have been as many as 4, 5, 6 Democrats who were going to vote no. And so that was really a big victory because I got to tell you, Democrat senators have been willing to vote for some of the most extreme nominees I've ever seen. So to actually flip them was a great victory for free speech today.
Ben Ferguson
Yeah, no doubt about it. It was awesome. I want to get to this other issue, and it was a shocking issue of four Americans that were taken hostage in Mexico. Before we get into that story, though, want to tell you about our friends at Chalk. And you know how much the left hates real men, men that are masculine. And if you are getting older and you're losing a little bit of that edge, then you need to know about chalk Choq. What do they do? They're here to here to help real American men maximize their masculine masculinity by boosting testosterone levels up to 20% over 90 days. Now, I'm taking the chalk male vitality stack. I can tell you it works. I've been using it now for what, three and a half, four weeks? And you too can maximize your masculinity. Get those testosterone levels back up. That'll irritate the left, I can promise you that. All you got to do is go to chalk choq.com, use the promo code BEN, and you'll get 35% off any Chalk subscription for life. Choq.com promo code BEN for 35 off choq.com center there was a story that was really a shocking story. It also came along with video. And that video showed four Americans who had traveled into Mexico, right across the border with Texas, going into Mexico. They were then ambushed. Two of them died. They were taken and thrown into the back of a white pickup truck. We saw this. The most shocking part for me was not that the cartels did this. It was the fact that the President, United States of America, had nothing to say about it. When these. At that point, we didn't know if anyone had actually been killed yet of these Americans. And the White House was asked about what is the President doing and saying? And the White House press secretary, all she had to offer the American people and these hostages was this. Thank you.
Senator Ted Cruz
I wanted to follow up on the issue about the four US Citizens kidnapped in Mexico. Has the President been informed?
Ben Ferguson
What was his reaction?
Senator Ted Cruz
You can share anything about that.
C
I can tell you the President is aware and has been informed.
Ben Ferguson
That's it. You're an American. You're held hostage in Mexico. You're asked about it. And the White House says he has been informed. Senator, he is aware. That is all he had to say about this. And now we found out two of the four are dead. Your reaction?
Senator Ted Cruz
Look, Ben, I really wish we had a commander in chief. That reaction is pitiful. Anyone who kills an American citizen should face serious consequences, should be held to account. And the President was awol. You had four Americans. The story as we know it right now, more facts may come out. But as we know it right now, four Americans from South Carolina who traveled down to Mexico so that one of them, a woman, could get a medical procedure, a tummy tuck. They drove down there in a rental car. And what's been being reported right now is the Gulf Cartel believed that they were Haitian smugglers, either drug smugglers or human smugglers. We don't know the exact details. And opened fire on them. And two of them were killed. The third was injured, shot in the leg. And the two that lived were taken hostage for several days. And the President publicly didn't say a damn word. The President ought to stand up right now. And he should have stood up when they were taken before we knew their situation and said, release these Americans. America will not stand by while you kidnap Americans, while you shoot Americans, while you murder Americans. And particularly this happened just south of the US Mexico border, just south of our southern border. Let me say secondly, this crisis was caused by Joe Biden. Joe Biden's open border policies have caused the Worst crisis on our southern border in our nation's history. In two and a half years, we've seen over five and a half million illegal aliens crossing the border. We saw last year more than 100,000 drug overdoses in the United States, the highest level in history. More than half of those are Chinese fentanyl flooding across the border. But I'll tell you one of the real consequences. So Biden came in and Biden and Harris together, in the first week, they did three things. They made three political decisions that caused this crisis. Number one, they immediately halted construction of the border wall. Number two, they reinstated the failed policy of catch and released. And number three, they pulled out of the incredibly successful remain in Mexico policy. That combination of policy and political decisions caused this border crisis. But let me tell you the real effects. According to the New York Times, in the year 2018, the drug cartels in Mexico made roughly $500 million. Now, listen, $500 million is a lot of money. They were doing quite well last year. You know how much they made?
Ben Ferguson
How much?
Senator Ted Cruz
$13 billion. And that's all because 600% more. Yes, it is. Without exaggeration, the single best thing that has ever happened to Mexican drug cartels and drug lords is Joe Biden becoming president. Their profits went up 2,600%. $13 billion, by the way, of that money, roughly roughly half the money they make is from human trafficking, from bringing human beings across the border in horrible conditions of squalor and abuse, and roughly half of it is from drug trafficking. So why do these cartels feel that they have the power to kidnap and murder American citizens? Well, when you're vicious terrorists, when you're violent criminals, when you are cruel and abusive, and you got $13 billion, sadly, the impact in a country is terrible. And Joe Biden caused this. It is tragic and it's unacceptable.
Ben Ferguson
The Attorney General, Bill Barr, former Attorney General Bill Barr was asked about this, and he obviously had to deal a lot with Mexico when he was in charge under the Trump administration. He summed it up by putting it this way.
D
The Mexican government is being held hostage by tens of thousands of paramilitary members of terrorist organizations that effectively control Mexico. It's pretty close at this stage to a failed narco state. They can use violence and oceans of cash to corrupt the government. The government has no will, and it doesn't have the ability to deal with the cartels. And they are sitting next door producing mountains of poisonous drugs and killing over 100,000Americans a year, which was the. At the height of World War II. That was our killed in action rate. So we are sustaining the same damage as we would in a major war from these groups operating right beyond our reach.
Ben Ferguson
Senator, when you put it in perspective the way that he did, talking about the number of people that have died, you know, the killing of over 100,000Americans a year, which was what we were dealing with the height of World War II, that was our killed in action rate. And we're sustaining those losses right now because of an open border, because of this President. And he doesn't seem to have any connection to reality or, or want to stop the death of all these Americans. And even when Americans are being taken hostage, did you ever think you would see a day where a President wouldn't immediately come out to the White House press briefing and say, I want to make it clear, the cartels, whoever took these Americans, you better return them or we will unleash holy hell on you. And, and if the Mexican government is the failure that was just described here by Bill Barr, that's basically a narco state. And you know that. Cuz he was just down there, why wouldn't you have said this? Because you had no honest ability to believe that the Mexican government was going to be able to find these people before two or three or four die.
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, because Joe Biden is an unbelievably weak president. Listen, Bill Barr, as you know, he's been a friend for a long time. For 20 years we've had Bill Barr as a guest on this podcast when he was Attorney General under Donald Trump. And Barr has spent a lifetime fighting for law and order, fighting against drug dealers, fighting against human traffickers, fighting to keep innocent people safe. And the condition in Mexico is tragic. These drug cartels are more powerful than they have ever been in the history of Mexico or the history of the world. And Joe Biden is making them powerful. He is making them incredibly rich by allowing their businesses to flow, flourish and prosper. And listen, Bill Barr is right that the Mexican government sadly has at best turned a blind eye to the horrific predations of these drug cartels and at worst has been complicit in them. You know, it was really striking when Biden went down to Mexico and did a press conference with Amlo, the extreme leftist president of Mexico. Amlo praised him effusively in Spanish. We played it on this podcast. He praised him as being the first president in modern times, Republican or Democrat, not to build a single meter of border wall. Now Amlo was praising him for essentially abandoning his obligation to protect America and Keep us safe. But that is also the praise of someone talking about a President of the United States who Amlo believes is weak, who AMLO believes is not formidable. You know, last night I went on Jesse Waters, and Jesse asked me about Lindsey Graham had said we ought to send in the military, we ought to kill these drug cartels. And let me be clear, Lindsey's a friend, but I don't agree with his recommendation there. I don't think we ought to invade Mexico. I don't think we ought to be in the business of invading foreign nations. But I do think the President ought to make unequivocally clear to the Mexican government, you will hunt down, you will send in the Mexican army, you will arrest these cartel members that murdered these American citizens, you will extradite them to the United States, and they will face the full force of the justice system in the United States of America. And you might say, well, gosh, AMLO's too weak to do that. He's unwilling to do that. I'll tell you what. When Trump was president, Amlo was terrified of Trump. When Trump was president, Amlo agreed to the Remain in Mexico agreement. He actually stationed thousands of Mexican soldiers on Mexico's southern border. You know, you look at the map, Mexico's southern border along Guatemala is much, much smaller than our southern border, which is 2,000 miles between the United States and Mexico. If you want to stop illegal immigrations, one of the ways you do it is you. You seal the southern border of Mexico. Amlo did it because he was terrified of Trump. Because Biden is such a weak president, everyone walks all over him. And sadly, these American citizens, they're from South Carolina. Two of them lost their lives because of the drug cartels empowered by Joe Biden. And two of them were kidnapped while Joe Biden remained silent and did not use the power of the United States to defend those Americans.
Ben Ferguson
Yeah, it is a scary thing. And I think the part that was most shocking for me was the fact that we only offered up $50,000 to get information about the whereabouts. And I said, wow, I'm basically worth $12,500. But if you come across the border illegally, you'll get far more than that from the U.S. government. And we're sending far more than that to people in Ukraine. That is, again, shows you just how low the American people are on the priority list of this White House.
Senator Ted Cruz
Ben, for what it's worth, I'd up at least 13,000 for information on you.
Ben Ferguson
Thank you. Thank you. At least 13. I like.
Senator Ted Cruz
Hey, I got your back. It's not 12. Five, man. You're at least 13.
Ben Ferguson
The entire United States government right now. Do I get to combine funds? Because that's like almost 25 right there.
Senator Ted Cruz
Look, I don't have a multitrillion dollar GDP, so you should feel really good. I just committed 13 grand. I'll be in trouble at home for that.
Ben Ferguson
I'm going to get this in writing. Diaz, if we ever go missing, we know, we know Senator Cruz has got our back on that one. I want to get to something else.
Senator Ted Cruz
And that is these, by the way, 1301. I may be like new. New number. Who dis.
Ben Ferguson
I don't know that I. That former person that I used to work with. Yeah, I can. I can hear the press conference right now. At least I'd get a press conference out of it. That would be the good news.
Senator Ted Cruz
I got your back, big guy.
Ben Ferguson
Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate that. I want to get in these emails with Dr. Fauci, uh, that apparently these new emails are showing that Dr. Anthony Fauci actually commissioned a scientific paper in February of 2020 to disprove the Wuhan Lab leak quote theory. Before I get to that, I want to tell you about our friends at Augusta Precious Metals. You've probably seen what's been going on with the economy. You know what's happening with interest rates, and you know what's happening on Wall Street. So if you have saved a long time for retirement, you know how important it is to understand that you need to protect your dollars. And you can do that with a gold ira. I'm excited to tell you about a company that I actually use and trust, Augusta Precious Metals. They're different. They will tell you if a gold IRA isn't your answer. They just give you the facts. Now, Augusta Precious Metal is all about protecting your IRA and 401ks in this crazy economy. And that is so important close to retirement because there's no time to make up losses. So if you've saved $100,000 or more, you should take a look at their free guide and sign up for their free web conference. That's where you get the real information. I've done that web conference and it is amazing. You should check them out. Call them 8774-the-number4-Gold IRA. 877-the-number4Gold IRA. Or visit Augusta Precious Metals.com say I sent you and they'll pay your fees for up to 10 years. That's Augusta precious metals.com or 8774-gold- IRA. Senator, the more that comes out about what Foushee was up to. It is even to me, a little bit shocking. Now, these new emails uncovered by the House Republicans probing the. Probing the COVID 19 pandemic are now revealing the deceptive nature of Dr. Anthony Fauci. They show that he prompted or commissioned and had final approval on a scientific paper written specifically in February of 2020 to disprove the theory that the virus leaked from a Wuhan lab in China. Eight weeks later. Fauci also said the White House press conference alongside Donald Trump and cited that paper as evidence that the lab leak theory was implausible while pretending it had nothing to do with him and he did not know the authors. He was lying to the American people.
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, sadly, we've discovered that Dr. Fauci is more than willing to lie to the American people, and he did so throughout this pandemic. He did so at enormous expense to his own integrity, to his own credibility, and an enormous expense to the credibility of the scientific and medical community in this country, particularly in the government. This particular story was broken by Miranda Devine in the New York Post. And I gotta say, Miranda Devine has done an extraordinary job breaking these stories. She's focused aggressively on it. You know, when Fauci talked about this paper, he described it as a group of, quote, highly qualified evolutionary virologists. They looked at the sequences in bats as they evolve, the mutations that it took to get to the point where it is now totally consistent with a jump of species from animal to human. So, he continues, the paper will be available. I don't have the authors right now, but we can make it available to you. So he's laying it out as this scientific paper. It came out in Nature magazine on February 17, 2020, but it was written four days after Fauci had held a call with the four authors to discuss reports that COVID 19 may have been leaked from the Wuhan lab and, quote, may have been intentionally genetically manipulated. And the article, on February 12th, Anderson, one of the authors of the article, submitted the paper to Nature Medicine with a cover email. There has been a lot of speculation, fear mongering, conspiracies put forth in this space. This paper was prompted by Jeremy Farah, Tony Fauci, and Francis Collins. And Francis Collins was the head of the nih, the National Institute for Health. Farrar was the head of the British nonprofit the welcome Trust, which has deep ties to the pharmaceutical industry and the Gates Foundation. And emails. On the day the paper was published, Farrar was pushing through a crucial, crucial change. He Said the following. This is a quote, sorrow, sorry to micromanage micro edit, but would you be willing to change one sentence? And his change was to replace the word unlikely with the word improbable in a statement about the lab leak origin. So it would read, it is improbable that SARS CoV2 emerged through laboratory manipulation of an existing SARS related coronavirus. If you look at it, Fauci knew what he was doing. He prompted the scientists to write the article, and then he turns around and holds a press conference, says, wow, look at this article. I don't know who wrote it, who knows, but. But they seem really credible. And you know what? It says the virus didn't come from a Chinese government lab. Now, mind you, that was false. And Fouchy had all the evidence he needed to know it was false. He did that in February 2020. Remember this podcast in March of 2020, 20, one month later, laid out the facts then that I think made it indisputably likely that it had escaped from a Chinese government lab. But Dr. Fauci didn't like that political story and so was willing to essentially fabricate evidence to, to prompt a scientific study that would enable him to turn around and say, gosh, I'm just following the science, when I believe he knew he was misleading the American people.
Ben Ferguson
Yeah, the way he put it at that press conference just showed how, how shady this was. Hey, get me this. And then I'll cite it like I didn't know about it. Like, you guys are independent and they're, and they're literally colluding on this on the phone ahead of time. And then when he brings the American people, it's like, I had nothing to do with this. Just found this independent study. And this is par for the course now with what we're finding out through these investigations. The question is, though, will there be any accountability for this? Fauci got paid, he got famous, he walked away from, from our government being the highest paid bureaucrat on our payroll in our government. Do you believe that? Even with all of this coming out, will there be any accountability? Because at this point, I think that's what so many Americans want. They just want to know that somebody is going to get in trouble for what they did to us in this country with COVID lockdowns, et cetera.
Senator Ted Cruz
So sadly, I don't believe there's going to be any federal criminal liability. And the reason is simple. Under our Constitution, there's one person and one person only on the face of the planet that can bring federal criminal charges. His name is Merrick Garland. He is the Attorney General of the United States. He is, as we've talked about on this podcast multiple times, I think, the most political Attorney General this country's ever seen. I've asked Merrick Garland repeatedly if he's willing to investigate Anthony Fauci, if he's willing to prosecute Anthony Fauci for lying to the Congress. And Merrick Garland has refused to give a straight answer to that. As you and I said on this podcast at CPAC last week, Merrick Garland might actually rival and even exceed Anthony Fauci for arrogance and self satisfied hubris.
Ben Ferguson
And that's hard to do.
Senator Ted Cruz
It is astonishingly hard to do. Both of them, I think, have done enormous damage. I think there will be accountability for Fauci number one in public opinion and public record. And it's one of the values. What we're trying to do in the Senate, what we're trying to do in this podcast, what the House majority is doing with its subpoena power and its investigation. Sunlight is powerful. More and more people are learning that Anthony Fauci was a liar. But he wasn't just a liar. He was a deliberate liar. He knew he was lying. He was willing to put politics above science and medicine. And on the left, you know, the left lives so often. And by the left, I mean Democrats, I mean the bureaucratic estate of the regulators in our government, and I mean the media, the corporate media. They live in a fact free environment where they have a narrative, they tell facts, they tell a story, and the facts don't matter. And we now know not one, but two agencies in the Biden administration admit what was obvious three years ago, which is that Covid likely escaped from a Chinese government lab. At this point, the Biden Department of Energy has concluded that, and the Biden FBI has concluded that. And that means when Foushee was teeing up these, quote, scientific articles, he was deliberately creating materials that were deceptive. And the American people ought to be really ticked off. Why was Tony Fauci trying to cover up for communist China and for its culpability in this pandemic?
Ben Ferguson
Yeah, no doubt about it. And more of this is coming out. We'll keep you updated on what is found specifically from the Republicans on the House side as they're continuing to look into this. Finally, Senator, I want to talk about January 6th. And these tapes have come out. Uh, they are being broadcast, the footage is being looked at. The, the, the leadership of the Republican Party and the senate side. Mitch McConnell saying he doesn't really like how this is going down. And I want to get your reaction to that. Before I do that, I want to tell you about our friends at Patriot Mobile. If you want to vote with your dollars and you want to have an impact with your dollars, you want to give your money to companies that are aligned with your values, you can do it every month when you pay your cell phone bill by switching to Patriot Mobile. Now, switching is easy now you're also going to get the same great coverage that you have right now. You're going to get to keep your same cell phone number. The difference is when you pay your bill every month, a portion of that bill goes to support first and Second Amendment causes. Also, they give money to support the rights of unborn children and even help with adoptions. Patriot Mobile is a conservative Christian company that is standing by what we believe in. So make a difference. Every time you use your phone, call them, use the promo code. Verdict. You'll get the best savings of the day. And if you are an American business owner, small business owner, they have an entire division dedicated to small businesses as well. 878-patriot that's 878-patriot 878-patriot or online at patriot mobile.com verdict that's patriot mobile.com verdict Senator, January 6th there's been a lot of fodder. I've said this, you and I've talked about this. If you were attacking police, you deserve to be arrested and go to jail. If you're breaking down windows, you deserved to be arrested and go to jail. But there's a lot of tape that's now coming out and it's nothing like 9 11, which Democrats have have said that it was like that day. And now we're finding out about the lies of the January 6 committee where apparently they were altering sound, they were altering tape. The man who led that committee, Benny Thompson, was asked about this earlier by a reporter, Carrie Pickett, at the Washington Times. This is what was said in the back and forth presentation that came out.
C
Last night, calling it January 6th. Harry Pickett, Washington Times what your thought. This is calling the January 6th select committee liars, saying you guys selectively edited the tapes, said that you guys pretty much Tucker Carlson, particularly the way you guys put out selectively edited clips, put in sound that didn't exist from the producers from the from NBC.
Senator Ted Cruz
That's not true.
C
Tell me.
Senator Ted Cruz
I just told you it's not true.
C
Well, then what you want me to.
Senator Ted Cruz
Tell you it's not true?
C
Okay, Senator Hawley, the Clip of him running by himself when the fact that there were a whole bunch of senators who were actually running out together when he was mocked. Is that true or is that not true?
Senator Ted Cruz
Say it again.
C
Senator Haley running by himself when he was running with a whole bunch of other senators.
Senator Ted Cruz
He saw him running.
C
He was running with a whole bunch of other senators, though.
Senator Ted Cruz
You saw him run.
C
He was running with a whole bunch of other senators.
Senator Ted Cruz
I stand by the tape says Tilly Fowler.
C
What about Jacob Chansley?
Senator Ted Cruz
He was.
C
He was completely peaceful.
Senator Ted Cruz
I don't know.
C
Thank you, sir.
Ben Ferguson
I don't know him. Senator, this is the Guy ran the January 6th committee. He's saying, we didn't. We didn't change any video. Except when you see the raw video. It's very clear that the January 6th committee, who hired TV executives to come producers to come run their hearings, they edited the hell out of these tapes and put things up there that just didn't happen.
Senator Ted Cruz
The January 6th committee in the House of Representatives was a kangaroo court. It was designed to be a political circus. Nancy Pelosi structured it so it had only Democrats and two Republicans who would go along with the Democrats on everything. When Republicans wanted to put real Republicans who would stand up and actually cross examine witnesses, actually try to get to the facts of what happened. Pelosi said, nope, nope, we don't want any cross examination. We don't want any facts. This is a political circus. Uh, so, for example, Kevin McCarthy wanted to put Jim Jordan on. Jim Jordan would have questioned the hell out every one of those witnesses. Nancy Pelosi said, oh, no, no, no, our witnesses can't handle questioning. No, no, no, we don't want him there. You know, an ordinary congressional committee, you have a roughly equal member of a number of members from both sides, which means every witness that comes before them gets questioned by both sides. And there's a virtue to the give and take of a hearing. If you think about it, a criminal trial. A criminal trial would be very different if the prosecution were the only people allowed to talk. Like, if the defense lawyer didn't get to speak. You just had the prosecution present evidence. You know what? Just about everyone would get convicted. It would take a terrible prosecutor who couldn't convict if the defense lawyer wasn't allowed to talk, wasn't allowed to question witnesses. That's what Nancy Pelosi did with the January 6th committee. She basically set up. It was. And you mentioned they hired a Hollywood producer, a producer from Good Morning America, to put on a political infomercial. And the infomercial was designed to tell one story about January 6th that was deliberately one sided. And so I'm very glad Kevin McCarthy has handed the footage over from January 6th over to Tucker Carlson. His, his show that he put out this week where he went through that video and he showed a lot of portions of video that were totally different from what that kangaroo court put out. And, and I think it's important for the American people to know what happened. As you said a minute ago, Ben, anyone on January 6th who committed a crime of violence, anyone who assaulted a police officer, that person should be prosecuted and go to jail. You don't get to commit a crime of violence. Whether I agree with your politics or I don't, violence is a crime and you should go to jail. But anyone who engaged in peaceful protests, who simply spoke what they believed, there were thousands upon thousands of peaceful protesters there on January 6th who didn't violate the law. They exercised their First Amendment rights. And for two years, we've seen Democrats and the corporate media cynically trying to paint those little old ladies waving American flags and singing God Bless America with the action of a much smaller number of individuals who committed crimes of violence. And so releasing this video is really powerful to show. As, as you played in that exchange with the Washington times reporter, the Jan. 6 committee released a video and then added a soundtrack. It's like a sitcom. Adding the laugh track. They added noise that's not in the video. Why? Because it made really good tv. Wow. It sounded scary. They put a lot of scary noise there. So that must have been what it was like. And my hope is that this video gets reviewed and gets made available to the public, I hope much more widely than Tucker Carlson. I'm glad Tucker is making it available, but I think it ought to be available more widely so we can get a true and accurate picture of what happened. Those that committed crimes of violence can be held accountable. But those who are being persecuted for their political views, which is what the Biden administration can do, they can be exonerated. And this video is powerful on both fronts.
Ben Ferguson
You mentioned the other day and you asked the question of the FBI about Ray Epps specifically. And I, and I think we should go back to that because one of the things that Tucker Carlson focused on on his second show was Ray Epps. Here's 35 seconds of what he showed in these videos that many people have never seen about Ray Epps, who you asked about the FBI. Listen to this.
E
Tonight we can tell you that at the very least, Ray Epps lied in his sworn testimony to the January 6th committee, Epps testified that when he sent the text messages to his nephew, he had already left the Capitol grounds to return to his hotel room. That is not true. The surveillance footage we found shows that, in fact, Ray Epps remained at the Capitol for at least another half an hour. You're seeing that on your screen now. What was Epps doing there? We can't say. But we do know that he lied to investigators. The January 6th Committee likely knew this story. Two Democrats had access to the same tape, yet they defended Ray Epps. No honest investigation would do that. But the point of the January 6th committee was never to investigate anything. The point was to stage a made for TV show trial.
Ben Ferguson
I mean, we, we see the timestamp, you see that re Apps at least lied about this. Have you still. And is there any chance that we're going to get a straight answer on who the hell Ray Epps is? And he. Is he an informant? Was he put there by the FBI?
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, sadly. From the Biden Justice Department. From the Biden FBI, I think the chances are very slim. I would encourage podcast listeners, go back and Google a podcast we did a long time ago that is entitled who is Raips? And we devoted an entire episode of Verdict to that question. And it followed a Judiciary Committee hearing in which I was questioning senior officials from the Department of Justice and from the FBI. And I asked them about how many undercover agents they had at the protest on January 6. They refused to answer. How many of them? Did any of them engage in acts of violence? They refused to answer. Did any of them encourage or incite others to engage in acts of violence? They refused to answer. If you look at Ray Epps, his behavior at the time where he's urging people, we must go into the Capitol. Not just to the Capitol, we must go into the Capitol. And it's really quite remarkable. You watch the video, the crowd starts chanting at Ray Epps, Fed, Fed, Fed. The crowd believes he is working for the federal government. And, and I gotta say, the lack of willingness to answer those questions from the Biden administration is incredibly troubling. Look, if someone commits a violent crime, they should be prosecuted. But there's an exception to that, which is if the federal government incites that crime, if the, if the federal government entraps someone, in other words, an undercover cop can't come to your house and say, hey, Ben, have you looked down the street? There's a liquor store there. Maybe we ought to go knock off the liquor store. What do you think? And you're like, oh, I don't know. I don't really need to do that. Come on, man, we can do it. We can do it. And if you go knock off the liquor store, you know what? At your criminal prosecution, you can raise a defense of entrapment and say, wait a second. It was law enforcement who came up with the idea. It was law enforcement encouraged me to do it. I wouldn't have done it. I was sitting at home recording a podcast until suddenly someone knocked on my door and said, let's go knock off a liquor store. The government can't do that. And so the re the question on January 6, one of the most important questions is, to what extent did federal law enforcement incite and entrap people into criminal violations? And the fact that Tucker has aired what appears to be video contradicting Ray Epps testimony, that raises serious questions. And it's amazing. The Democrats on the January 6 committee, when asked about Ray Epps, they hate every single person who was at January 6th. They're all evil, horrific insurrectionists, except Ray Epson. They defend him like crazy. Which I got to admit, when you have hardcore partisans defending someone, that certainly raises some questions. Why are they defending him?
Ben Ferguson
And to be clear, Raps has never been charged with any crimes.
Senator Ted Cruz
Absolutely true. And I don't know, maybe there is an explanation, but on the face of it. So there's another video where he's in the crowd, he whispers in a guy's ear, and second, Slater, the guy starts tearing down the barricades to go into the Capitol. That conduct appears to be encouraging him to violate the law. We don't know what he whispered, but the fact that the FBI won't answer that question. And listen, I get it. As a general matter, your dad was in law law enforcement for a long time. As a general matter, you sent in an undercover cop. You don't admit who the undercover cop is. You don't admit what he's done. And. And by the way, undercover policing is a legitimate form of law enforcement. January 6th was not a typical day. I don't think that's hyperbole to say the Democrats and the Biden administration have suggested it was a national tragedy on the order of 9, 11 and Pearl Harbor. If they are going to maintain that's the case, the American people deserve to know what actually happened that day, and they deserve to know what the precise level of culpability the federal government bears in the criminal conduct on that day. And yet the Biden DOJ and the Biden FBI remain dug in and out adamantly opposed to any accountability. The FBI could answer this question. They refuse to. And it's because they they ultimately don't think the public has a right to know. I think that's represents a grotesque disrespect for the American people.
Ben Ferguson
No doubt about it. This may be one of my favorite podcasts we've ever done, Senator, because we got to cover so much tonight. And I'll remind each and every person listening right now, make sure you share this podcast with your family and friends. Also, hit that auto subscribe, auto download button. It doesn't cost you a dime, but you'll get every single episode automatically when you hit that button wherever you're listening to this podcast. And finally, make sure you write us a five to review. It helps us tremendously reach new audience. That's why we ask you to do that. And we will see you back here in a couple of days.
The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson – March 8, 2023
Hosted by Ben Ferguson and Featuring Senator Ted Cruz
Timestamp: [00:01 - 08:52]
Ben Ferguson opens the episode by discussing a significant political victory: the withdrawal of President Biden's nominee, Gigi Sohn, for the position of Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Senator Ted Cruz elaborates on why Sohn's nomination was problematic, highlighting her long-standing left-wing activism and perceived bias against conservative voices.
Notable Quotes:
Senator Ted Cruz [00:55]:
“Gigi Sohn has been a left-wing activist her entire life. She is a hardcore activist. She had repeatedly denounced Fox News as an enemy to democracy, as a threat to democracy.”
Senator Ted Cruz [05:13]:
“She is a partisan advocate, and Biden was giving in to the radical left by trying to name her to the FCC because I believe he wanted to use government power to silence conservative voters.”
Cruz details Sohn's support for the group "Fighting for Our Future," which attacked both Republican and Democratic senators, demonstrating her partisan stance. He underscores the unity of the Republican senators in opposing Sohn's nomination, ultimately leading to the White House's decision to withdraw her nomination. This move is celebrated as a collective triumph for free speech and bipartisan cooperation.
Ben Ferguson commends the collaborative effort and acknowledges the podcast's role in shedding light on Sohn's qualifications, reinforcing the importance of exposing unqualified nominees.
Timestamp: [09:54 - 22:34]
The discussion shifts to a harrowing incident where four Americans were taken hostage in Mexico, resulting in the deaths of two individuals. Ferguson criticizes the Biden administration's minimal response, pointing out the lack of substantial action or communication from the White House.
Notable Quotes:
Ben Ferguson [11:50]:
“The White House was asked about what is the President doing and saying? And the White House press secretary, all she had to offer the American people and these hostages was this. Thank you.”
Senator Ted Cruz [12:20]:
“I really wish we had a commander in chief. That reaction is pitiful. Anyone who kills an American citizen should face serious consequences, should be held to account.”
Cruz attributes the crisis to President Biden’s border policies, arguing that the halt of the border wall construction, reinstatement of "catch and release," and withdrawal from the "Remain in Mexico" policy have empowered Mexican drug cartels. He provides alarming statistics on the surge in cartel profits and the associated increase in violence and drug trafficking into the United States.
The conversation highlights the administration's inadequate funding for resolving the hostage situation and contrasts it with the substantial aid provided to other international crises, emphasizing the neglect of American citizens' safety.
Cruz further criticizes the Biden administration's leadership, describing President Biden as "unbelievably weak" and attributing the worsening border crisis directly to his policies.
Timestamp: [22:40 - 33:13]
Ferguson brings attention to new emails suggesting that Dr. Anthony Fauci commissioned a scientific paper in February 2020 to debunk the Wuhan lab leak theory of COVID-19's origin. Senator Cruz condemns Fauci for allegedly misleading the public and obstructing accountability.
Notable Quotes:
Senator Ted Cruz [25:46]:
“We know not one, but two agencies in the Biden administration admit what was obvious three years ago, which is that Covid likely escaped from a Chinese government lab.”
Senator Ted Cruz [29:48]:
“Dr. Fauci was a deliberate liar. He knew he was lying. He was willing to put politics above science and medicine.”
Cruz discusses how Fauci allegedly influenced the publication of a paper in Nature Medicine that deemed the lab leak theory "improbable," despite later admissions by government agencies supporting the theory. He accuses Fauci of orchestrating deception to align public perception with political narratives.
Ferguson and Cruz express skepticism about any forthcoming accountability, pointing to Attorney General Merrick Garland's inaction and describing both Garland and Fauci as damaging figures who have eroded public trust.
The segment underscores the belief that governmental transparency and responsibility have been compromised, leaving the American public distrustful and demanding justice.
Timestamp: [33:13 - 47:34]
The conversation turns to the January 6th Capitol riot, focusing on allegations that the House Select Committee manipulated video evidence and conducted a partisan investigation. Senator Cruz criticizes the committee as a "kangaroo court" orchestrated by Nancy Pelosi to push a specific political agenda.
Notable Quotes:
Ben Ferguson [35:41]:
“This is the guy ran the January 6th committee. He's saying, we didn't. We didn't change any video. Except when you see the raw video. It's very clear that the January 6th committee... selectively edited clips.”
Senator Ted Cruz [36:14]:
“The January 6th committee in the House of Representatives was a kangaroo court. It was designed to be a political circus.”
Cruz details how the committee excluded Republican members who would have provided balanced scrutiny, allowing only Democrats and compliant Republicans to participate. He draws parallels to a criminal trial, emphasizing the absence of a fair cross-examination process.
The discussion highlights new footage released by Tucker Carlson that purportedly contradicts the committee's narrative, showcasing discrepancies in witness testimonies and questioning the integrity of the investigation.
Cruz also raises concerns about Ray Epps, a figure linked to the protests, suggesting possible entrapment by federal agents. He criticizes the Department of Justice and FBI for their lack of transparency and accountability in addressing these issues.
The segment concludes with a call for a more transparent and balanced investigation, free from political bias, to ensure justice and truth prevail.
Throughout the episode, Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz engage in a robust discussion on pressing political issues, emphasizing themes of accountability, transparency, and the defense of conservative values. From thwarting an unqualified FCC nominee to critiquing the Biden administration's policies and the integrity of federal investigations, the conversation underscores a commitment to exposing perceived governmental overreach and advocating for the protection of American interests.
Key Takeaways:
This episode serves as a call to action for listeners to stay informed, support transparent governance, and uphold the principles of free speech and justice.