Mayorkas Impeachment Trial TODAY-the Inside Story & Everything You Need to Know

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson: Mayorkas Impeachment Trial TODAY – The Inside Story & Everything You Need to Know

Introduction

In the April 17, 2024 episode of The 47 Morning Update hosted by Ben Ferguson, a pressing political narrative unfolds as Ferguson engages in a detailed discussion with Senator Ted Cruz about the impeachment trial of Alejandro Mayorkas, the Secretary of Homeland Security. This episode delves into the historical significance of the impeachment, the political maneuvers surrounding it, and the broader implications for American governance and border security.

Setting the Stage: Historic Senate Proceedings

The episode opens with Ben Ferguson introducing the gravity of the day in the Senate, highlighting the commencement of the impeachment trial against Alejandro Mayorkas. Senator Ted Cruz emphasizes the historical weight of this event:

“This week is an historic week in the United States Senate. Yesterday on Tuesday, the House of Representatives delivered articles of impeachment for Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate.” ([00:17])

Cruz underscores that this marks only the 22nd time in U.S. history that impeachment articles have been presented to the Senate, setting the stage for what he anticipates to be a contentious and pivotal trial.

Democrats’ Strategy and Anticipated Obstacles

Senator Cruz expresses skepticism about the Democrats' commitment to the impeachment process, predicting attempts to derail the trial:

“I expect the Democrats to try to utterly dodge the issue and throw it out and refuse to hold a trial.” ([00:17])

He argues that Democrats aim to avoid spotlighting the administration's handling of the southern border crisis and evade accountability for the resulting humanitarian and societal impacts.

Unfolding the Impeachment Process

Cruz provides a comprehensive overview of the impeachment procedure, contrasting it with past instances to highlight the Democrats' unique approach:

“Whenever articles of impeachment arrive, there are special rules that apply to impeachment that automatically kick in.” ([03:22])

He details the traditional steps of presenting evidence, the role of House managers, and the expectations of a fair trial. However, Cruz anticipates deviations from this norm, primarily due to Democratic leadership's reluctance to proceed as usual.

Key Evidence and Allegations Against Mayorkas

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around the specific allegations outlined in the articles of impeachment. Cruz meticulously reads excerpts from the documents, detailing Mayorkas' alleged violations of federal statutes related to immigration enforcement:

“Alejandro Mayorkas willfully refused to comply with the detention mandate set forth in section 235B1B2...” ([13:29])

He highlights the escalation in illegal border crossings under Mayorkas' tenure, presenting stark statistics to illustrate the severity of the border crisis:

“During fiscal year 2017 through 2020... about 590,000 aliens... Ryan skyrocketed to 1.4 million in fiscal year 2021...” ([13:29])

These figures are used to argue that Mayorkas' policies have led to an unprecedented surge in illegal immigration, straining city resources and exacerbating public safety concerns.

Reactions and Political Maneuvering within the Senate

Senator Cruz recounts his observations of Democratic senators' reactions during the impeachment proceedings, particularly focusing on Senator Jon Tester's evasive behavior:

“Tester was gone. His seat was empty... He was not willing to sit on the Senate floor and listen to it.” ([18:36])

This anecdote serves to illustrate the broader pattern Cruz perceives of Democrats avoiding accountability and shirking their constitutional duties.

Historical Context and Comparison to Past Impeachments

Cruz draws parallels between the current impeachment and historical precedents, noting the rarity of impeaching a cabinet member compared to presidents and judges:

“Mayorkas is only the second cabinet member in history to be impeached.” ([09:41])

He elaborates on the Senate's role in impeachment trials, emphasizing the unique position senators hold as both jurors and lawmakers, with broader discretion than typical jurors.

Implications for Future Elections and Democratic Accountability

The discussion shifts to the potential electoral repercussions of the impeachment outcome. Cruz posits that a failed impeachment trial could severely damage the Democrats' standing with voters, especially as the border crisis continues to unfold:

“This impeachment trial is exceptionally important.” ([28:55])

He warns that avoidance of accountability could lead to significant backlash in the upcoming elections, as constituents bear the brunt of the administration's policies.

Concluding Insights: The Path Forward

Senator Cruz remains resolute in his belief that the impeachment trial is a critical juncture for American democracy and border security. He expresses confidence that public awareness will grow despite media biases, ultimately influencing voter sentiment:

“I believe in this country... I think millions of Americans are looking this and saying, holy crap, this is horrific.” ([41:17])

Cruz underscores the necessity of the trial in exposing the administration's policies and restoring accountability, positioning it as a decisive factor in the nation's political landscape.

Conclusion

This episode of The 47 Morning Update offers a thorough exploration of the Alejandro Mayorkas impeachment trial, framed within the broader context of U.S. political dynamics and border security challenges. Through Senator Ted Cruz's insights, listeners gain an understanding of the procedural intricacies, the high-stakes political strategies at play, and the potential long-term implications for American governance and electoral politics.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Senator Ted Cruz on Historical Significance:

  “This week is an historic week in the United States Senate.” ([00:17])

• Cruz Predicting Democratic Evasion:

  “I expect the Democrats to try to utterly dodge the issue and throw it out and refuse to hold a trial.” ([00:17])

• On Mayorkas’ Alleged Violations:

  “Alejandro Mayorkas willfully refused to comply with the detention mandate...” ([13:29])

• Observing Senator Jon Tester's Reaction:

  “Tester was gone. His seat was empty... He was not willing to sit on the Senate floor and listen to it.” ([18:36])

• Implications for Elections:

  “This impeachment trial is exceptionally important.” ([28:55])

• Cruz’s Optimism for Accountability:

  “I believe in this country... I think millions of Americans are looking this and saying, holy crap, this is horrific.” ([41:17])

Final Thoughts

For listeners seeking to grasp the complexities and high stakes of Alejandro Mayorkas' impeachment, this episode provides a comprehensive and incisive analysis. Cruz's perspective sheds light on the procedural expectations, the anticipated political resistance, and the broader societal impacts of the current border policies, making it an essential listen for those invested in the future of American political integrity and border security.

Transcript

[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome. It is verdict with Senator Ted Cruz. Ben Ferguson with you. Senator. It was a very, very lively day in the Senate and it deals with the mayorkas impeachment. Get everybody up to speed on what we're going to be seeing over the next day.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, this week is an historic week in the United States Senate. Yesterday on Tuesday, the House of Representatives delivered articles of impeachment for Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate. This is only the 22nd time in our nation's history that articles of impeachment have been delivered to the Senate today. On Wednesday, the Senate will commence the hearing at 1pm today. Under the Senate rules, we will convene. We will be sworn in as jurors in the trial. I expect a battle. I expect some fireworks and sadly, I expect the Democrats to try to utterly dodge the issue and throw it out and refuse to hold a trial. But today is going to be a big battle because this is going to be all about the Democrats being willing to throw the Constitution in the trash in order to avoid any national attention on the disaster that is playing out on our southern border and in order to avoid any accountability for their responsibility for the lives that are being lost because of Joe Biden and the Democrats open borders.

[Ben Ferguson]

Democratic leadership said they were hoping this would take about a day. I want to get your take on how this is going to play out and will it be just a quote day trial and that is it. But first, let me tell you about our friends over at Patriot Mobile. If you have a cell phone and about 99% of you do you want to make sure you know where your money's going when you pay your bill? You may not realize this, but with Big Mobile you are supporting hardcore leftist causes, organizations including Planned Parenthood. That's right. When you pay your bill, Big Mobile is giving big donations and they've been doing this now for decades. That is the reason why I want you to know about Patriot Mobile. Now here's the best part. I've switched and I can tell you my coverage is perfect. Why? Because I use the same exact cell towers I was using before. With Big Mobile. Yeah, nothing changes for you. You get the same service you're accustomed to. But this is the best part. Every time you use your phone, every time you send a text, and every time you pay that bill, you are actually standing with other conservatives. And when you pay that bill, about 5% of that bill every month actually goes back to support your rights to free speech, religious freedom, the second amendment and supporting conservative candidates and causes. They also stand with the rights of unborn children with major donations going to right to life organizations. That's why I love Patriot Mobile and I want you to check them out. 972 Patriots are number when you call them use a promo code verdict. You're going to get free activation 972patriot now if you've got a business or a small business you can call them and switch all of your lines. It's easy 100% US based customer service team makes switching easy. Patriot mobile.com verdict that's patriot mobile.com verdict or 972 patriot promo code verdict Senator, there was a prediction that came from the Democrats. They made it very clear. Chuck Schumer said hey we think we can get done with this thing and maybe a day. Is that a possibility now yes or no?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well sadly yes. And in fact I would say it's likely right now. So let me describe what happened yesterday on Tuesday and what's likely to happen today. So yesterday on Tuesday at about 2:30 in the afternoon, the House managers arrived at the Senate. When they did, virtually every senator was sitting at their desks on the Senate floor. The House managers came in under the Senate rules. So the Senate exists in three different states. One is considering the legislative calendar, one is considering the executive calendar which is nominations and the third is considering impeachment. Those are the only three states of the Senate. Whenever articles of impeachment arrive, there are special rules that apply to impeachment that automatically kick in. So we knew that the articles of impeachment were being delivered. And so Patty Murray, who is the president pro tem, she is the senior Democrat. The Democrats are in the majority. So she's the president pro tem. She was presiding. And what happened was the House clerk came in and said the House managers are here to present articles of impeachment. And the speaker pro tem Petty Murray said they shall be welcomed on the floor. They came onto the floor and you had about a dozen House managers. They're all House members who were selected to present the case, to try the case. Mark Green is the leader of the House managers. Mark Green is the one who presided over the committee that considered the impeachment. Mark Green is from Tennessee. He's a good friend. He's a West Point graduate. He's an army veteran. He's a terrific guy. And under the Senate rules, the first step is that he reads the articles of impeachment. The articles of impeachment are they are printed out. They're a document that's actually what was voted out of the House. And they are. What are they, 19 pages long. So he read those 19 pages on the floor of the Senate. That took probably 35, 40 minutes. Virtually every senator sat there listening. The press sat there listening. It was important to walk through the facts. And one of the things I want to do on this podcast is read through some of the facts that were laid out in the articles of impeachment that Mark Green read. We all sat there and just listened. And the Democrats had to listen to the facts, to the disaster of Biden's open border. They had to listen to that be presented. That was the first step. The next step is that under the Senate rules of impeachment, on Wednesday, today, the Senate will come into session at 1pm as a court of impeachment. The very first thing that will happen is we will all be sworn in as jurors. We will sign a book that signs that we are participating as jurors. Now, what would ordinarily happen? So this has happened 22 times in our nation's history. The other 21 times, here's what would happen. The Senate would consider and would adopt a resolution laying out a trial schedule. That's ordinarily how this happens. And you lay out a schedule, okay? The House will present their case on X date. They will have Y hours. It will go this way. Then the defense will present their case. They will have the following hours. Here are the motions that will be in order. It's very much like if you're in a trial court. If you're litigating a case, you'll often have a scheduling order at the front end. That's typically the first step. In this instance, we are anticipating that's not going to happen because the Democrats. Chuck Schumer has decided he does not want to have a trial. He desperately wants to avoid a trial. And he doesn't want the House managers to present any evidence. Schumer and the Democrats are terrified of the evidence of the suffering of the people who've died, of the people, of the children who've been sexually assaulted, of the women who've been sexually assaulted, of the fentanyl deaths and the drug overdose deaths. He doesn't want that evidence put before the American people. Understand? The Democrats have no defense on this. They don't have a counter argument. They don't have an alternative narrative on almost every other issue. If I'm in the Senate and I lay out an argument for lower taxes, the Democrats will present their counter argument. No, no, no, we need higher taxes. Stick it to the rich. Make Them pay more. If we're discussing the issue of abortion and I talk about the importance of protecting life, they'll step in and say, no, no, no, we must have abortions everywhere. We love them. On almost every issue, they have a counter argument. What is remarkable, Ben, is they do not have a counter argument. On the open borders. They don't dispute any of the facts. Their entire strategy is simple. Hide from the facts because they are indefensible. And so they're counting on the corporate media covering up the facts. They're counting on the fact that CNN ignores the border crisis. ABC ignores the border crisis. Cbs, NBC, MSNBC ignore the border crisis. And their entire strategy is don't talk about it, pretend it doesn't exist, and count on the media that are shameless shills for the Democrats to cover it up. As a result, I fully expect tomorrow Chuck Schumer intends to file either a motion to table or a motion to dismiss. We don't know which one yet. But when he does so, right now, the expectation is that every single Democrat will vote with him. I hope they don't. And I have been leading the fight. We had a long press conference on Tuesday with multiple senators, with multiple of the House managers trying to put heat on the Democrats to press them to fulfill their constitutional obligation to hold a trial. But right now, Schumer's intention, he doesn't want a trial. He doesn't want any evidence. He wants to make this go away because he's terrified of the issue.

[Ben Ferguson]

So how do they proceed so quickly to just shut it down? I mean, you mentioned. And I want people to understand what it would normally look like. You were talking about the House would be presenting their evidence if this went the traditional way. When you say the House presents their evidence, who actually does that? How would that normally look? And so paint that picture real quick.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. So 21 times the house has delivered articles of impeachment to this country, to the Senate, before Tuesday. In all, 21 of those times, in four of them, the Senate lacked jurisdiction. The very first one, William Blount, was a senator. And the Senate concluded, rightly, that under the Constitution, impeachment only lies against either executive branch officials or judicial branch officials. In other words, impeachment. You can remove someone, the president, you can remove a Cabinet member, you can remove a judge. But the Senate concluded you cannot remove a member of Congress, that it's only each body. The Senate can throw senators out, the House can throw House members out. But impeachment is not a mechanism that applies to members of The Congress. That was the first impeachment. After that, there were three other instances where the person who was impeached either died or. Or resigned from office, but they weren't in office. And so the Senate concluded, okay, they're out of office. We're done. There's nothing to do here. So those four cases, the Senate lacked jurisdiction in 100% of the instances where the individual remained in office and the Senate had jurisdiction. What the Senate did is conducted a trial. They heard evidence. And the way it proceeds is the House managers present the evidence. Actually, the senators sit there silently. We're not allowed to engage, unlike a hearing, unlike an argument on the floor, we're not allowed to speak. We sit there and listen. Both of the Trump impeachments, you'll recall, verdict got started the first night of the first Trump impeachment. That's why this podcast was born, to explain what was happening. But the way it operates in the Trump impeachments, for example, I couldn't speak. No other senator could speak. We're jurors, although, actually, we're not just jurors. We're also. We decide the law as well. And we're entitled to take political considerations. We're entitled to take any considerations we want. So it's not. It's not a jury in the ordinary sense. And actually, in the impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton, Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa, actually stood up and raised a point of order and had Chief Justice William Rehnquist clarify that senators are not jurors in the purest sense of the word, but rather they are granted by the Constitution the responsibility and the authority to adjudicate and to consider matters of fact and law and consider every other factor. So, you know, look, senators have connections to the people being impeached in ways that no juror ever would. So, for example, if a president's being impeached, all the senators know the president. Half the senators are of the party of the president, half are not. In a jury, you could never have that. You could never have people who know the criminal defendant and have a relationship with them. But the framers established something different for impeachment. They established that it would be the Senate that adjudicates it. But the way it ordinarily plays out is the House managers, and that's a group of, typically about a dozen House members that are selected by the House to present the evidence. They present the evidence, and we listen to it.

[Ben Ferguson]

So, Senator, the next question that some people are going to ask is how on earth do we feel like we're living in these times where we have an open border? We're witnessing cities are saying they're going bankrupt and they're taking away from American citizens or tax dollars, giving them to illegal immigrants. We have the fentanyl crisis coming across the southern border. And we clearly have an administration that is not abiding by the laws that are already on the books, specifically Mayorkas. And it seems by, based on what you're saying, Mayorkas is probably sitting around a table laughing right now at this because he knows he's safe.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, he knows that the Democrats are gonna rubber stamp everything he's doing because every Democrat in the Senate supports these open borders. Understand, this is not just Joe Biden. This is not just Kamala Harris. This is Chuck Schumer. This is every single Democrat. This is the entire House. They all, every one of the Democrats supports this invasion. And so Schumer wants to make this go away quickly. He wants no attention. He wants no press. He wants none of the facts. And I will say, watching the House present the articles of impeachment, so I'm going to read some of the articles of impeachment that were read on the Senate floor. And the reason I'm going to is because these facts were laid out and it was interesting watching the Democrat senators listen to it. So, for example, here's one portion. So the articles of impeachment go through all the different statues statutes that Mayorkas defied. So, for example, here's a quote, Alejandro Mayorkas willfully refused to comply with the detention mandate set forth in section 235B1B2 of such act requiring that an alien who is placed in expedited removal proceedings and determined to have a credible fear of persecution, quote, shall be detained for further consideration of the application for asylum. Shall be detained. It's mandatory terms. Over and over again, they go through all sorts of section 236C of the act which requires that a criminal alien who is inadmissible or deportable on certain criminal and terrorism related grounds, quote, shall be taken into custody when the alien is released from law enforcement. Alejandra Mayorkas issued guidelines for the enforcement of civil immigration laws which instructs the Department of Homeland Security that the fact that an individual is removable, a removable non citizen, should not alone be the basis of an enforcement action against them and that DHS personnel should not rely on the fact of a conviction alone that's directly violating federal law. It goes through instance after instance after instance of federal law. Federal Statutes that Mayorkas has defied Alejandro Mayorkas. This is quoting more from it. Alejandro Mayorkas willfully exceeded his release authority set force in section 236A of such act that permits in certain circumstances the release of aliens arrested on administrative warrant in that he released aliens arrested without a warrant despite being subject to separate applicable mandatory detention requirements over and over and over again. All right, here's some basic stats that it lays out. During fiscal year 2017 through 2020, in other words, the Trump administration, on average about 590,000 aliens each fiscal year were encountered as inadmissible aliens at ports of entry or on the southwest border or apprehended in between ports of entry. During Alejandro Mayorkas tenure in office, the number skyrocketed. So it was 590,000 a year. First year it skyrocketed to 1.4 million in fiscal year 2021 and then to 2.3 million in fiscal year 2022 and then to 2.4 million in fiscal year 2023. Those numbers, it goes on to talk about New York City and it says, for instance, this is quoting, for instance, since 2022, more than 150,000 migrants have gone through New York City's shelter intake system. Indeed, the mayor of New York City has said that quote, we are past our breaking point and that quote, this issue will destroy New York City. In fiscal year 2023, New York City spent 1,450,000,000 addressing Alejandro Mayorkas migrant crisis and city officials fear it will spend another $12 billion over the following three years, causing painful budget cuts to important city services. If you look at it goes on to say, for example, during Alejandro Mayorkas tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security, the US Border Patrol has encountered an increasing number of aliens on the terrorist watch list in the fiscal years 2017 through 2020, in other words, the Trump administration combined 11 non citizens on the terrorist watch list were caught attempting to cross the southwest border. So in other words, in four years a total of 11 people on the terror watch list crossed. That number increased to 15 in the fiscal year 2021, 98 in fiscal year 2022, 169 in fiscal year 2023 and 49 so far in fiscal year 2024. Those numbers are staggering and I think it was important to see them read and presented on the Senate floor and to watch every Senate Democrat have to.

[Ben Ferguson]

Listen to them when you say it was interesting to see their reaction. Was it a reaction of let's hurry up and get through this. Was it a reaction from some that they didn't even know this or was it the reaction of this is not my problem, I don't care. I mean, what did the room look like? And were there different reactions?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So it was the latter. The Democrats were all staring ahead. They didn't care at all. They were enduring it. They were sitting there for appearances. You know what was the most revealing reaction?

[Ben Ferguson]

What was that?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Jon Tester. So Jon Tester, everyone recognizes is almost certainly the most vulnerable Democrat on the ballot in November. Jon Tester is a senator from Montana. Montana's going to vote for Donald Trump. Montana's going to vote for Donald Trump by double digits. John Tester gets reelected every six years because he looks like a good old boy Montana farmer. He's a big old guy with a flat top haircut. And you figure he's gotta be reasonable. Middle of the road. He votes exactly like Chuck Schumer. He's hard left. If Tester had a different haircut, he would never have gotten elected in Montana. But because he's got a flat top haircut, he gets elected. Tester knows he's got a heck of a fight. What was interesting is Tester was on the Senate floor before the House managers arrived. As soon as the House managers arrived, Tester disappeared. Almost every single Democrat was sitting in their seats. Tester was gone. I assume he went to the cloakroom. He ran away. He's like, oh, my goodness, I cannot be on the floor to hear this. So he was gone. His seat was empty. The House managers read the articles of impeachment. It takes, As I said, 30 or 40 minutes. We all sat there listening. And then as soon as the House managers finished and they left, you know who was back on the Senate floor?

[Ben Ferguson]

Who was that?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Jon Tester.

[Ben Ferguson]

Wow.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

He, I guess was sitting back in the cloakroom. I don't know if he was on his phone playing video games. I don't know what he was doing. But he was not willing to sit on the Senate floor and listen to it. And by the way, when he goes back to Montana, he says, I care so much about illegal immigration. We've got to secure the border. It's a problem. And every word he's saying is not true because today he intends to vote to throw the damn thing out. To say, I don't want to hear a trial, I don't want to hear any evidence. I don't want to know what's going on. It's not even like an ostrich sticking his head in the sand. At least stays in the room. He's an ostrich who runs his ass out of there. And it's emblematic. Why does Chuck Schumer want to avoid a trial? Because he's desperate to protect the Democrat senators on the ballot from the consequences, from the deaths and suffering and people who are suffering misery because of their open border politics and policies which they intend to continue. And Schumer, this is all about political camouflage.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, the left, the hypocrisy is enormous. You ask how big an issue this is going to be. I think this is going to be the number one issue in November in every election in the country that Joe Biden and every Democrat member of Congress has willfully presided over and aided in abetting in the criminal invasion of this country. That what has unfolded has been staggering. And understand that the consequences, this is not some ticky tack violation of law, rather the consequences of this. We are seeing thousands upon thousands of people die. We are seeing migrants die every year, multiple migrants a day dying. We're seeing dead bodies all over Texas farms and ranches occurring over and over again. We're seeing thousands of children brutalized by human traffickers. We are seeing thousands of women sexually assaulted by human traffickers. We are seeing over 100,000Americans dying of drug overdoses every year. The tragedy is enormous. And I think this is going to be front and center. The Democrats are going to try to avoid accountability. I don't think they're going to succeed. I think this impeachment trial is exceptionally important. And I will say today it's going to play out one of two ways. What the Democrats have proposed is a scheduling order that will allow votes on several motions. So there is an organizing resolution that Mike Lee has presented that is modeled after the Trump impeachment trial that would set it up where the Senate, the entire floor of the Senate is the trial and we conduct the trial on the floor. I'm going to vote for that. I think all the Republicans, or most, if not all the Republicans tend to vote for it and all the Democrats will vote no. I have a scheduling order that I put in that instead of having the full Senate conduct the trial that would appoint A trial committee and the way the Senate has operated. When it is the impeachment of the President of the United States, it occurs on the floor of the Senate and the Chief justice of the United States presides. But for lesser impeachment. So for example, Mayorkas is only the second cabinet member in history to be impeached. The last cabinet member was the Secretary of War in 1876. But this is exceptionally rare. The bulk of the impeachments have been judges. And the way it's typically worked when a judge is impeached is that the Senate has appointed an impeachment committee with an equal number of members of each party and the committee has conducted the trial. So the committee hears evidence, the House managers present evidence. It's public, the American people can see it. And then the committee makes a recommendation to the full Senate and the Senate in turns. Every Senator has to vote guilty or not guilty on each of the articles. That's the way it's historically worked. So I've got an organizing resolution I filed to do that. I would rather it be on the floor of the Senate. I think it's important enough it should be on the floor of the Senate. If Republicans had a majority in the Senate, I'm confident we would hold the trial on the floor of the Senate. But given Democrats have control, I think it is reasonable for them to say, okay, we'll do this the way every other sub presidential impeachment has been done, through an impeachment committee. So that would be the reasonable way to do it. They're going to oppose. And so what Schumer has suggested is scheduling order that will allow a vote on Mike Lee's resolution, a vote on my resolution and then a number of points of order raising problems with what the Democrats are trying to do of throw out the matter, prevent the House managers from presenting the evidence and prevent a trial. The Democrats intend to vote against all of those. What? The scheduling order that's been proposed by the Democrats would give some time for debate. Right now it's an hour and a half. An hour and a half is not a ton of time, but it's better than zero. It is not clear if that will be agreed to. Right now there are a couple of Republicans who are objecting. If Republicans object to that scheduling order, then here's what will probably happen. We'll come in at 1:00 today. We will not get a vote on Mike Lee's scheduling order. We will not get a vote on my scheduling order. I and several others will rise on points of order and try to challenge this. And what I expect is fairly quickly, Chuck Schumer to file a motion to table and try to put this whole thing away. Now, the frustrating thing about doing it that way is under the rules, when we make a point of order, you're not allowed to argue. So we won't have debate. We won't be able to stand up and state the reasons for our point of order. You can get maybe 20, 30 seconds to say, I raise a point of order that X, but you've got a couple of sentences and that's it. So in my view, it's much better to take a scheduling order that gives us a period of time to lay out the argument, because the entire purpose of this is to put the evidence before the American people. But we may see one or more Republicans object, in which case we won't get any debate time at all and this will just get rammed through very quickly.

[Ben Ferguson]

There's also the fact that I think a lot of people believe, and I think you would agree with this, that there has been zero accountability for Secretary Mayorkas just flat out lying to Congress. This is something that he said, and I want to get your take.

[C]

I've adhered to the oath to which I have sworn and I have abided by the law each and every, every step of the way.

[Ben Ferguson]

That's not true, is it? That's a lie.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

It's an absolute lie. And actually, there's a whole provision of these articles of impeachment that lay out how Mayorkas has repeatedly lied to Congress. Now, it's interesting, one of the things that the articles of impeachment also lay out is that, okay, so the Democrats are going to take the position this is a policy difference that, okay, the Biden administration just, they won't quite say it, but believes it open borders. So they're going to let people go. But it's not impeachable. It's not an offense. What is interesting is that was not the position of the Biden Justice Department. So you had litigation in front of the court where Texas sued the Biden administration trying to get the court to say the Biden administration is refusing to refusing to follow immigration law. And as I'm going to read from the articles of Impeachment, the dissenting justice in that case noted, quote, the court holds that Texas lacks standing to challenge a federal policy that inflicts substantial harm on the state and its residents by releasing illegal aliens with criminal convictions for serious crimes. In order to reach that conclusion, the court holds that the only limit on the power of the presidency president to disobey a law. Like the important provisions. At issue is Congress's power to employ the weapons of inter branch warfare. As the dissenting justice explained, quote, congress may wield what the Solicitor General described as political tools, which presumably means such things as impeachment and removal. Indeed, during oral arguments, the justice who authored the majority opinion stated this to the solicitor General, quote, quote, I think your position is instead of judicial review, Congress has to resort to shutting down the government or impeachment or dramatic steps. That is what the Biden Justice Department argued is that impeachment is the remedy when a president, a cabinet member, refuses to follow the law, defies the law. The Biden Justice Department argued that in front of the U.S. supreme Court. And yet you know what? Today the Democrats are going to say, nope, impeachment's not the remedy. If you have an executive who defies the law, it doesn't matter. We're going to rubber stamp it and we're not even going to hold a trial. And by the way, every Democrat will tell the reporters there was no evidence of a high crime and misdemeanor. Now of course they'll say there was no evidence because they're about to vote to block all the evidence so they don't hear any evidence. So then they can say we didn't hear any evidence. And the reason they didn't hear any evidence is because they're going to refuse to hear any evidence. And why are they going to refuse to hear any evidence? Because they don't want the American people to hear the evidence.

[Ben Ferguson]

And part of what they don't want them to hear is the reality of what it's like out there on the streets. Bill Malusion did some great reporting yesterday on Fox News Channel about elite ICE unit is tracking down migrant criminals, specifically child rapists. This is while Mayorkas stared at Congress and said the board border is secure, the border is secure. He said that to Congress he was lying. Take a listen to this from Fox.

[D]

A short time later, ICE took down their final target, a Brazilian gang member also charged with child rape. Just this morning. Today, four accused child rapists and one MS.13 gang member. Those are the kind of people you're going after. That's every day up here in in Boston. If those are the public safety threats that we really want to get off.

[Ben Ferguson]

The street, it was a great day for the teams. That's five public safety threats that are in the community going to go ahead and victimize anyone else.

[D]

And ICE says all of those arrests you just saw happen because local authorities ignored their detainer request to keep these guys in custody due to sanctuary policies. ICE says all of those suspects will remain in federal custody until their local charges are resolved. Then ICE will seek to deport and every single one of them.

[Ben Ferguson]

Four alleged child rapists arrested in the morning. And they said they're doing this every day. And local law enforcement is not working with them because local municipalities have said we're, we're sanctuary cities. So these child rapists that are, that should have been held by local authorities are not. And yet this administration says no, no, no, we're following the law, everything's fine.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Every single week, the Biden administration is releasing thousands upon thousands of illegal aliens. That includes murderers, that includes rapists, that includes child molesters. Every single week, we are seeing another horrific crime committed by an illegal alien released by Joe Biden and the Democrats week after week after week. Whether it was Lake and Riley in Georgia and the horrific murder that occurred from an illegal alien that Joe Biden and the Democrats released. Whether it was Jeremy Caceres, a beautiful two year old boy in Prince George's County, Maryland, just a few miles from where I am right now in D.C. murdered by an illegal alien that Joe Biden released, or whether it was a 15 year old girl in Boston, Massachusetts, severely disabled, who was raped by an illegal alien that not only did Biden release, he flew from Haiti to America. So we've covered on this podcast how 320,000 illegal immigrants were flown into America by the Biden administration. He literally imported in a child rapist who's now been arrested for raping the severely disabled 15 year old teenager. This is happening week after week after week. This is why the Democrats don't argue on the other side. What's the counter argument of no, it's good a two year old boy is murdered. No, it's good that we have teenage girls being raped. That there is no counter argument. So their counter argument is see no evil. Their counter argument is John Tester running from the Senate floor and hiding in the cloakroom because he doesn't want to listen to what's happening. Why? Because he intends to vote today to say no trial, no evidence, I don't want to know. I do not care about the people dying. I'm a Democrat. I want Democrats to be in power. 10.4 million illegal immigrants means more Democrat voters. So if people have to die for me to stay in power as a Democrat, I'm okay with that. I gotta say, look, it is Difficult for me not to get really angry about this because as a Texan I see I've looked in the eyes when you go down to the border, as I have over and over again, and you look in the eyes of these little children have been brutalized. It makes you angry that these people, tomorrow more children will be brutalized. Tomorrow more women will be raped. And not a one of these Democrats cares, not a one of them will do anything to change. And they'll tell you, oh, I care, but if you cared, you would change it. And not a one of them is willing to do that.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, it's very true. I want to take a moment and say thank you to so many of you guys that are listeners. A verdict for getting involved with the ifcj. That's the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You know that Israel is under attack by Iran directly now and it's already been six months since the brutal attack by Hamas on our brothers and sisters in Israel. Now since then the attack on Israel's on Israel and the Israelis and Jewish people have only increased, especially in the north and that is where the need is. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews is on the ground now addressing all the needs as they come in. Now your life saving donation today can help provide a bomb shelter in an area in Israel that needs it the most. When the sirens go off, people have 15 seconds or less to get to safety. Let me say that again. When the sirens go off and those 300 plus rockets that were headed towards Israel happened just a few nights ago, people have 15 seconds or less to get into safety. 20 people can fit inside each mobile bomb shelter. They are constructed to withstand rocket attacks and meet standards approved by the IDF. IFCJ has helped renovate and install now nearly 3,000 bomb shelters because of people like you. Now the cost of one Bob shelter is $15,000 and the goal for April is five bomb shelters that we can help install. We're asking listeners to get $50. 300 of you give $50, we'll have a new bomb shelter installed immediately. And if you're able to increase your generosity and give 500 or more, your name will be included on a special plaque placed on a bomb shelter in Israel. To help, I want you to visit supportifcj.org that's one word. Supportifcj.org One more time supportifcj.org and help install bomb shelters now in Israel. Senator, I want to play something else and this. There's two things actually. I want to play. Play. I want to Go back in time and this is my orcas in front of the White House. And then I'm going to compare it to what Schumer said last week. Do you believe that right now there's.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

A crisis at the border?

[C]

I think that the, the answer is no. I think there is a challenge at the border that we are managing and we have our resources dedicated to, to managing it.

[Ben Ferguson]

That was March 1, 2021. Secretary Mayorkas insisting there's no crisis of the border despite millions of illegal immigrants coming across and literally thousands of illegal crossings per day. Then you go to last week, Chuck Schumer making it clear this is a policy now of the Democratic Party to have an open border. Say you're going to offer a motion to dismiss the impeachment charges on Thursday. Are you at all concerned that if.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Some Democrats and tough races vote for that to come back to campaign trail?

[C]

Look, we're going to try and resolve this issue as quickly as possible. Impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements.

[Ben Ferguson]

Leadership never be used to settle policy disagreements. This is the policy of the Democratic Party. And my arc is lied to your face in March of 2021 saying that there's no crisis the border. And in their mind, from a policy viewpoint, Senator, I think it's abundantly clear now they're on the record saying a wide open southern border and millions of illegals coming across is not a crisis, it's just a policy disagreement and it's.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

The policy they support. And Schumer repeated those two lines at the press conference about four more times. That said we're going to try to get rid of this as quickly as possible. And impeachment should never be used for a policy dispute. What's interesting, he didn't have a third line. He was reading those talking points. He was being very precise. He's not defending. He's not saying, hey, this is a good policy. I agree with the policy of the Biden administration. I think it's great we have it open border. I think it's terrific that we're releasing murderers. I think it's terrific that we're releasing rapists. I think it's terrific we're releasing child molesters, we're releasing drunk drivers. I think it's terrific that 100,000 people have died of drug overdoses every year and we keep allowing more and more. I think it's terrific that in 2018 the Mexican drug cartels made $500 million from human trafficking. In 2022, they made $13 billion. I think it's fabulous that we, the Democrats, have produced a 2,600% increase in the revenue for the Mexican drug cartels. The biggest friends the human traffickers have ever had in the history of humanity have been Joe Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas. That is the simple reality. And none of that does Chuck Schumer say instead says, hey, this is just a policy dispute. You know, they the other side believes in securing the border and we want this country invaded.

[Ben Ferguson]

It is the policy of the Democratic Party and it's sad. But we're witnessing the demise of this country, our borders and our laws at the hands of these people. And it is their America will come back, though.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

America will come back. We are not witnessing the demise. We are witnessing the attempted demise. And I believe in this country, I think we will come back. I think millions of Americans are looking this and saying, holy crap, this is horrific. This is inhuman, this is wrong. That's why this trial is so important, is there are a lot of people that still don't know what's happening. They don't understand. If you watch CNN every day, God help you, but you have no idea because the media are propagandists. That's why this trial is important. But I think people's eyes are opening up.

[Ben Ferguson]

I hope you're right. And it's going to be very important come November. Don't forget that's exactly why we do the show Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And we do a week in review of what you may have missed during the week. We know many of you are busy and you may miss a show, so that's why we put that out there on Saturdays as well. Make sure you hit that subscribe or auto download button. And don't forget, grab my podcast as well. I'll keep you up to date on what's going on with breaking news on those in between days. The Ben Ferguson podcast, wherever you get your podcasts, and the Senator and I will see you back here on Friday morning.