← The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
NO Accountability by Mayorkas on Border Crisis, WH Hangs Israel Out to Dry on Funding & How Dems WON on Impeachment Week In Review
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- [00:00]
Ben Ferguson
This podcast is sponsored by Talkspace. You know, when you're really stressed or not feeling so great about your life or about yourself, talking to someone who understands can really help. But who is that person? How do you find them? Where do you even start? Talkspace. Talkspace makes it easy to get the support you need. With Talkspace, you can go online, answer a few questions about your preferences, and be matched with a therapist. And because you'll meet your therapist online, you don't have to take time off work or arrange childcare. You, you'll meet on your schedule wherever you feel most at ease. If you're depressed, stressed, struggling with a relationship, or if you want some counseling for you and your partner or just need a little extra one on one support, Talkspace is here for you. Plus, Talkspace works with most major insurers and most insured members have a $0 copay. No insurance, no problem. Now get $80 off of your first month with promo code SPACE80 when you go to talkspace.com match with a licensed therapist today at talkspace.com save $80 with code SPACE80 at talk.
- [01:01]
Ted Cruz
Welcome. It is verdict with Ted Cruz Week in Review. Ben Ferguson with you. And these are the stories that you may have missed that we talked about this past week. First up, Republicans move for accountability on the border crisis, specifically with Mayorkas. Also, the White House has one terrible message for Israel and they have continued to allow them to hang out to drive. We'll have the latest on that. And finally, how did the Democrats actually stop the impeachment inquiry into Mayorkas in the Senate? Senator Cruz explains all of that. It's the week in review and it starts right now. There's, there's also the, 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.
- [02:00]
I've adhered to the oath to which I have sworn and I have abided by the law each and every step of the way.
- [02:10]
That's not true, is it? That's a lie.
- [02:12]
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 follow immigration law. And 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 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 to the solicitor General, 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.
- [04:57]
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 Melusion 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 border is secure, the border is secure. He said that to Congress. He was lying. Take a listen to this from Fox.
- [05:21]
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 that's every day up here in Boston. If those are the public safety threats that we really want to get off.
- [05:39]
The street, it was a great day for the teams. That's five public safety threats that are on in the community going to go ahead and victimize anyone else. And I says all of those arrests.
- [05:50]
You just saw happen because local authorities ignored their detainer request to keep these guys in custody due to sanctuary policies. I says all of those suspects will remain in federal custody until their local charges are resolved. Then ICE will seek to deport every single one of them.
- [06:08]
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 sanctuary cities. So these child rapists 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.
- [06:31]
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 cloak room 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, 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 one of them is willing to do that.
- [09:02]
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.
- [09:10]
Do you believe that right now there's a crisis at the border? 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.
- [09:24]
That was March 1, 2021. Secretary Mayorkas insisting there's no crisis at 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 colleague say you're going to offer a motion to dismiss.
- [09:47]
The impeachment charges on Thursday.
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Are you at all concerned that if.
- [09:51]
Some Democrats and tough races vote for that, you can come back to campaign trail? Look, we're going to try and resolve.
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This issue as quickly as possible.
- [09:59]
Impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements.
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Leadership never be used to settle policy disagreements. This is the policy of the Democratic Party. And Mayorkas 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. Is not a crisis. It's just a policy disagreement, and it's.
- [10:30]
The policy they support. And Schumer repeated those, those two lines at the press conference about four more times that said, we're gonna try to get rid of this as quickly as possible, and impeachment should never be used for 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 an 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.
- [11:48]
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 policy.
- [11:57]
America will come back, though. 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 at this and saying, holy crap, this is horrific. This is inhuman. This is wrong. That's why this trial is so important. Is there 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 now.
- [12:35]
If you want to hear the rest of this conversation, you can go back and listen to the full podcast from earlier this week.
- [12:41]
Ben Ferguson
This podcast is sponsored by Talkspace. You know, when you're really stressed or not feeling so great about your life or about yourself, talking to someone who understands can really help. But who is that person? How do you find them? Where do you even start? Talkspace Talkspace makes it easy to get the support you need. With Talkspace, you can go online, answer a few questions about your preferences, and be matched with a therapist. And because you'll meet your therapist online, you don't have to take time off work or arrange childcare. You'll meet on your schedule wherever you feel most at ease. If you're depressed, stressed, struggling with a relationship, or if you want some counseling for you and your partner or just need a little extra one on one support, Talkspace is here for you. Plus, Talkspace works with most major insurers and most insured members have a $0 copay. No insurance, no problem. Now get $80 off of your first month with promo code space80 when you go to talkspace.com, match with a licensed therapist today at talkspace.com save $80 with code space80@talkspace.com now on to story number two.
- [13:44]
Ted Cruz
So you look at all of that and then you see this. That just came out from the national on Iranian attacks on Israel. And I'm quoting, it says President Biden has been clear. Our support for Israel's security is ironclad. The US Will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran. Okay, Senator, if that's true, then they have to give them what they need this week. Am I wrong?
- [14:14]
Well, if there was anything like coherence and logic, then yes. And number one, I'm going to predict right now Chuck Schumer is going to do everything he can to block a vote on emergency military aid to Israel. I've called on it. I forced it already once. My guess is that he will put in place parliamentary tools to prevent us from using the same technique again. And I think the House, we've seen the speaker of the House and the majority leader both say that they're going to vote out an emergency military aid bill this week. So we'll get another one that comes over to us. And my prediction is the Democrats won't back it. They don't want to send military aid to Israel. And part of the problem is they've got a crisis in their caucus and their crisis is that the radicals, the Talibs and Omars, they more and more represent the mainstream of the Democrat Party. And so Schumer is terrified of Michigan, Biden is terrified of Michigan. They're terrified of the radicals. And so they may put out statements. But remember, this is the same Chuck Schumer that not long ago stood on the Senate floor and demanded that Israel's elected prime minister be thrown out of office. He decided that Israel alone, among all our allies, was not allowed to elect their leaders. Every other country. You know, Schumer hasn't called for the leader of Iran to step down. He hasn't called for the leader of Hamas or China or Russia or Venezuela or North Korea. If you're an enemy of America, Nope. Chuck Schumer and the Democrats, they're giving you money. But if you're our ally, what will Schumer say? How dare you be in office. We need an appeaser just like us.
- [15:54]
You just mentioned. I was going to go there, that the Senate Majority Leader said he should step down. There's been a lot of people in the media that have been really attacking him, saying that he is a warmonger, that he's. That he's a killer, that he should not be the president. He should not be in charge. I don't believe we're going to see any of that stop. But at least in the Middle east right now, and specifically in Israel, how important is his leadership?
- [16:20]
It's extraordinarily important. I will say I'm blessed to know Prime Minister Netanyahu very well. I think he is a remarkable man. When he came and addressed a joint session of Congress, and this was during the Obama administration, it was on the verge of Obama pushing through the Iran nuclear deal. At the time, and this was a decade ago, multiple Democrats boycotted the speech. They refused to listen to him speak. The Democrats hatred for Benjamin Netanyahu is nothing new. And understand that when he was reelected, Prime Minister Joe Biden made clear he was not welcome in the White House, that he would not be invited in the White House. He could not come to the White House. This is long before October 7th. This is long before the war in Gaza. They hate Netanyahu, but understand they undermine every Israeli government. They have done so from the very first days of this administration. But. But Netanyahu, they have a particular loathing to. Because he actually understands the gravity of the threat he is facing. He understands that when the Ayatollah says, death to Israel, he's not playing around. He actually means it when he says, death to America, he's not playing around. He actually means it. And listen, I've been blessed. In 12 years in the Senate, I've met many world leaders. That's one of the most incredible parts of the job, is you get to sit down with people that are leading our friends, leading other countries, leading our competitors. There is no world leader who has impressed me more. There's no world leader who frankly, has taken my breath away more than Benjamin Netanyahu because he has a seriousness of purpose. He is the only world leader for whom I have used the adjective Churchillian. In my office in D.C. i have three busts. I have a bust of Ronald Reagan, I have a bust of Churchill, and I have a bust of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And I have those three busts because they are all men who had extraordinary vision. They faced remarkable challenges. They saw a world that was better than the world they were living in. And their vision helped bring the world to a better place with extraordinary courage and clarity. And I have to tell you, I think Netanyahu has that same courage and clarity. Now, it is not my role to tell the people of Israel who their prime minister should be. So when Netanyahu was prime minister, when I started in the Senate, I dealt with him because he was the leader, the elected leader of Israel. When the people of Israel elected Naftali Bennet, I dealt with him. Whomever the people of Israel elect, I will deal with the elected leader. But the people of Israel reelected Benjamin Netanyahu, and I respect the choice of the people of Israel. There is an arrogance in Democrat foreign policy, but also in some Republican foreign policy that they think they can meddle in the internal politics of foreign nations and especially our friends and allies, that they can do what Chuck Schumer did, which is tell the people of Israel, tsk, tsk, you have no business electing Netanyahu. Throw him out now. And they treat him like the voters, the people of Israel, like the red haired stepchildren. It is ridiculous. I, you know, it's much like, look, there have been long debates in Washington about a two state solution. And then there, every Democrat says we must have a two state solution. Many Republicans say we must have a two state solution. My view on that is that's a decision for the people of Israel to make. They care acutely about their security. If the people of Israel decide that a two state solution is workable, I respect that decision. If they decide it's not because the terrorists with whom they are dealing, the Hamas and Hezbollah will not accept Israel's right to exist and will wage war on them. I respect that decision as well. And so I will say, when it comes to Prime Minister Netanyahu, it's the choice of the people of Israel that he should be their leader. I respect their choice. But at the same time, I think he is a leader who understands the seriousness of these threats and is not cowed by the aggression of Hamas or Hezbollah or Iran or anyone else. He is bound and determined to protect the people of Israel as before.
- [20:55]
If you want to hear the rest of this conversation on this topic, you can go back and download the podcast from earlier this week to hear the entire thing.
- [21:03]
Ben Ferguson
This podcast is sponsored by Talkspace. You know, when you're really stressed or not feeling so great about your life or about yourself, talking to someone who understands can really help. But who is that person? How do you find them? Where do you even start? Talkspace Talkspace makes it easy to get the support you need. With Talkspace, you can go online, answer a few questions about your preferences, and be matched with a therapist. And because you'll meet your therapist online, you don't have to take time off work or arrange childcare. You'll meet on your schedule wherever you feel most at ease. If you're depressed, stressed, struggling with a relationship, or if you want some counseling for you and your partner or just need a little extra one on one support, Talkspace is here for you. Plus Talkspace works with most major insurers and most insured members have a zero dollar copay. No insurance, no problem. Now get $80 off of your first month with promo code space80 when you go to talkspace.com match with a licensed therapist today at talkspace.com save $80 with code space80@talkspace.com I want to get back.
- [22:05]
Ted Cruz
To the big story number three of the week you may have missed. Finally, Senator, what exactly did Democrats do yesterday on impeachment just so people understand how they pulled this off?
- [22:18]
Well, at 1pm yesterday, we convened on the Senate floor. This is pursuant to the Senate rules when we enter impeachment, we were all sworn in and then we all signed the oath book. One at a time. We sign the oath book and what is supposed to happen next is that we adopt a resolution laying out a trial schedule of how the House managers are going to present their case. But instead what happened is Chuck Schumer rose on a constitutional point of order. And a constitutional point of order is you stand and say what is on the floor violates the Constitution and he raised a constitutional point of order. And he said, Article 1, the first article sent over by the House, does not allege a high crime or misdemeanor. And so what happened next is we voted on whether Article 1 alleged a high crime or misdemeanor. High crime or misdemeanor is what you need to be able to impeach someone. Now, Article one focused on Alejandro Mayorkas defiance of federal law that he was refusing to follow explicit and clear federal law. Federal law that says that illegal immigrants shall be detained, that illegal immigrants with criminal convictions shall be detained and shall be deported over and over again. Immigration law is mandatory. It says, shall, shall, shall, shall. And he's defying it at a level it's never happened before. It's not that he's bad at his job. It's that he is utterly flouting and defying federal law. And that's the first article of impeachment. And they argued. Actually, they didn't argue. They just made a motion that it's not a high crime or misdemeanor. They presented no argument. They did not give a legal argument. They did not write a brief. They did not present an argument. And I was the person who raised the lead objection to that. Now, under the impeachment rules, you can't debate on the Senate floor. You're supposed to be silent because you're jurors.
- [24:32]
I was gonna say, why is that? But that makes sense. Cause you're a juror, not a lawyer, I guess, presenting.
- [24:37]
Right, right, right. And so I made a motion for us to move into executive session. If we move into executive session, we throw the reporters out, we turn the TV cameras off, but then we can debate it. And I said, look, you're. You're making a major legal point. You presented no argument. And what you're saying is quality is. Is fundamentally wrong. And, And. And I'll tell you the amazing thing is the idea that refusing to follow the law, defying the law, is not a high crime and misdemeanor, is not impeachable. It is contrary to the original understanding of the Constitution. Joseph Story, who was a Supreme Court justice, one of the leading constitutional scholars right at the very beginning of our country, and his commentaries on the Constitution are widely cited for understanding what the founding generation believed the Constitution to mean. And he talked about. He wrote at length about high crimes and misdemeanors, and he gave lots of examples, including the Lord Admiral refusing to protect the high seas. And he said, that is a high crime or misdemeanor. And that is virtually analogous, very closely analogous to the head of Homeland Security refusing to secure the border. It's the same principle of allowing lawless piracy to threaten and invade America. So Joseph Story and the founding generation understood this to be a high crime and misdemeanor. And amazingly enough, Ben, the Biden Justice Department argued in front of the U.S. supreme Court that impeachment was the remedy for the Biden administration refusing to follow the law. So in Texas versus the United States, Texas sued the Biden administration for refusing to secure the border. And the Supreme Court ended up agreeing with the Biden administration and saying, well, Texas can't sue. And the Biden doj, the, the Solicitor General for Biden argued, look, if you have a cabinet member who's refusing to follow the law, Congress has remedies, including impeachment. And so I stood up and said, listen, the Biden Department of Justice argued last year this was impeachable. It didn't matter. Every single Democrat, all of them, and by the way, even the so called moderates Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, they voted also, nope, not a high crime or misdemeanor. And as a result, because they had to have a majority, the point of order carried. They got 51 votes for it. And so the first article was thrown out and then they did it again on the second one. And I'll tell you, the second one is even more astonishing. So as a result of the first vote, it is now the position of Democrats that any cabinet member can refuse to follow the law, can defy the law, can utterly ignore the law, and you can't impeach him for it. I mean, that's an astonishing and dangerous proposition in Democrat looney land. But the second article of impeachment was for breach of trust. And it focused on Mayorkas repeatedly lying to Congress under oath about what was happening at the border. And again, Chuck Schumer rose on a point of order and said, this is not a high crime or misdemeanor. Now mind you, they're saying lying under oath to Congress is not impeachable. It is a felony. It is a felony that you can serve jail time for. And it's worth remembering Bill Clinton was impeached for perjury. The House impeached him. And what did the Senate do? They didn't throw it out, they didn't dismiss it. The House managers presented the case, they hurt, conducted a trial and ultimately the Senate acquitted him. But they did their duty to hold a trial. And actually before that, there's someone I'M sure you've never heard of a guy named Walter Nixon. You know who Walter Nixon was?
- [28:35]
Who was that?
- [28:36]
Walter Nixon was a federal judge. He was a federal judge, actually, from Mississippi. You're an Ole Miss grad. He was a federal judge from Mississippi, but he was not a good guy. And he was convicted of perjury before a grand jury. And you know what happened? The Congress impeached him, the House impeached him, the Senate convicted him, and he was removed as a federal judge for perjury. So even though it was clear, there was clear precedent that, yes, perjury lying under oath is a high crime or misdemeanor, it is impeachable. Every single Senate Democrat voted that it's not a high crime or misdemeanor. So now, apparently, again, in Democrat wonderland, lying to Congress is a. Okay. And understand, this was not about the Constitution. They didn't care. They had no arguments as to why the Constitution said this. This was about power, and this was about protecting their political backsides because they're terrified of the American people hearing what is happening at the border. The fentanyl, the deaths, the rapes, the children being abused. They do not want that evidence before the American people. And I'll say this as a final point to wrap up. Do you want to see proof of why this is all political and why the Democrats did what they did? Yeah, you know, you know what? You know what Ms. You know what MSNBC and CNN covered all day yesterday? Trump 24 7, the Trump trial, Stormy Daniels. Ooh, smut, lying, prosecuting. Like, apparently there was no impeachment proceeding in the Senate. Nothing happened. There's no border crisis. The only thing they would cover is. Is the attack on Trump.
- [30:26]
As always, thank you for listening to Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. Don't forget to download my podcast. And you can listen to my podcast every other day. You're not listening to Verdict or each day when you listen to Verdict afterwards. I'd love to have you as a listener to again, the Ben Ferguson Podcast. And we will see you back here on Monday morning.