UNRWA Supports Terrorism, A Secure Ukraine before a Secure America, & Will SCOTUS be Unanimous in Colorado Week In Review - The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

Loading summary

Transcript40 lines

[00:01]
Ben Ferguson
Welcome. It's verdict with Senator Ted Cruz. Week in Review. Ben Ferguson with you. And these are the stories that you may have missed that we talked about this week. First up, shocking funding for the United nations going directly to terrorists that were attacking Israel. We'll have all the details on that. Plus, many Americans are very angry over massive funding still being forced down our throats to go to Ukraine. So what's behind this funding and why are they getting so much cash? And finally, could there be a unanimous decision from the Supreme Court over the Colorado case against Donald J. Trump? It's the week in review and it starts right now. So let's follow the money here. If, if UNR is getting funds from the United nations and we're the biggest donor to the United nations, we're giving money and it's being funneled to those that are helping carry out terrorist attacks as well as protecting terrorists and the planning and, and the rockets that are being shot into Israel for, for years now while they've been in the same building.
[01:13]
Senator Ted Cruz
Now that's exactly right. As, as the Times of Israel reported, UNRES Gaza headquarters is located in Gaza cities upscale Ramal neighborhood, an area that, that the Israeli the IDF had previously operated in and dismantled the local Hamas battalion and withdrawn its troops from. And here's a quote from Colonel Benny Aharon from the IDF who says, quote, the IDF was here previously. The first time was to destroy the enemy. But when we were here the last time, we collected a lot of intelligence documents and findings, a lot of prisoners. And thanks to this, we reached here now we carried out a targeted operation to take this capability away. We had a basis of information, but not enough to be able to dig down 20 meters to find it. 20 meters, about 60ft. We needed a bit more. There's information we get from prisoners we capture from computers we find from documents, maps. And they went down and discovered this terror tunnel. Hazan, who is tasked with coordinating the brigade's underground operation, said the main entrance to the tunnel was located under an unrush school in the area.
[02:39]
Ben Ferguson
Wow.
[02:39]
Senator Ted Cruz
And, and this. Look, the UN you want to talk about, number one, the UN has always been just a pit of anti Semitism, anti Israel hatred. But they have funneled billions of dollars to unwra, which in turn is supporting terrorists and supporting Hamas and employing people who participated in, in the October 7 terror attack.
[03:07]
Ben Ferguson
What will America's response be to this? As the Biden administration said, anything. Are there anyone in his administration or the UN Ambassador asking questions, saying what the hell's going on at the United Nations Relief and Work Agency that's been knowingly, as you described it, providing support to Hamas terrorists who committed these atrocities against over a thousand Israelis and dozens of Americans as well. Which, which, which I think has been overlooked as well by this administration.
[03:33]
Senator Ted Cruz
Yes. So sadly, the Biden administration, from day one has been funneling money into Gaza. Look, early on in the Biden administration, I led a group of 17 senators saying do not give money to Gaza because if you give money to Gaza, that will flow directly to Hamas and be used for terrorist activities. At the time I sent that letter, there were 150 House Democrats who sent a letter to the administration saying please do give money to Gaza even though it will likely be used by Hamas for terrorism. We now know because it's been publicly reported how the Biden administration resolved that issue. The Biden administration concluded that it was, quote, highly likely. Those are their, their terms. Highly likely that money given to Gaza would be used by Hamas for terrorism. Now ordinarily, Ben, under US Anti terrorism law, if it's highly likely the money will be used for terrorism, you can't send the money. That would be common sense. Well, with the Biden administration did instead is they formally waived U.S. anti terrorism law because their political ideology, they so wanted to send the money, they didn't care if it would be used by Hamas for terrorism. So in a very real sense, Joe Biden and the Democrats funded hamas and the October 7 terror attack.
[04:59]
Ben Ferguson
Which goes back to the bigger question in the aid. We, it looks like American aid. We say, hey, we're going to send some to Israel, but we're also wanting to send aid to Gaza. How do we not, how do we assure that that money is not going to go directly in the hands of the terrorists?
[05:17]
Senator Ted Cruz
We can't. And it is truly asinine. In the wake of this horrific terror attack, what did Joe Biden and the Democrats want to do? Let's send more money to Gaza. Let's send more money to Gaza. And my view is stop sending money to people who want to kill us. If you cannot assure that the money doesn't go to terrorists who want to murder Americans, don't send the money. And by the way, this past week I led a group of senators urging the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into a US based nonprofit that raises money for unrwa. And it's a group called UNWRA usa, which is a non profit with the self described mission to support the, quote, work of UNRWA through fundraising, education and advocacy in the United States. And as I pointed out, here's what I wrote in the letter with several other senators, quote, we write to call on you to open a criminal investigation into UNRE usa, its principles and its leadership for knowingly providing material support to foreign terrorist organizations, including Hamas. This support facilitated and continues to facilitate terrorism, including the October 7 terrorist attack in which Palestinian terrorists killed or kidnapped dozens of Americans and over 1,200 Israelis. According to its 2021 annual report, UNRE USA dispersed nearly $5 million in donations to UNRWA that year, making the organization UNRWA's largest institutional donor.
[07:02]
Ben Ferguson
I mean, you hear that and is an American taxpayer. It makes me angry to know that basically I'm funding the terrorists that took out these attacks, not just on the people in Israel, but we still have not, I think, gotten a full accounting from this administration on Americans that were killed and also taken hostage.
[07:27]
Senator Ted Cruz
Now, sadly, that's right. And the Biden administration we've talked about before, when it comes to foreign policy, it is all politics all the time. And they set aside US national security, they set aside the interest of protecting our allies, and they especially set aside the interest of protecting American citizens. And it's made the world much more dangerous.
[07:48]
Ben Ferguson
Senator, I want to ask you another question about just the response from this administration when this type of news comes out. There seems to be a no response or a very timid response. And I worry that's because they've known that there's been this level of corruption for quite some time. They're just now being faced with it in the government. What do we. When did they know about the corruption with, with unra and when did the warning sign start hitting them? Was it before this attack or can they play done now?
[08:23]
Senator Ted Cruz
We've known about it a long time and I will say it's bad thing when I question the Biden administration, when I question the State Department and I press them. Why do you keep giving hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza? Gaza is run by Hamas. Hamas is the government of Gaza and Hamas is a terror.
[08:41]
Ben Ferguson
People don't believe you when you say that just the tunnel system that we've seen since the Israelis have gone in is, is more than enough proof they.
[08:52]
Senator Ted Cruz
Can understand the Palestinians. So part of the leftist rhetoric. They say Gaza is the largest open air prison on earth. That's a lie. You know, Gaza is not run by Israel. Gaza is run by the Palestinians. Israel left the Gaza Strip. So the Gaza Strip is a portion of what used to be Israel and it is on the south west portion of Israel. And they just left. Israel left and said, all right, there's a massive population of Palestinians. You guys are in charge. You run it. And they had elections in Gaza. And the people of the Gaza Strip elected Hamas, which is a terrorist organization, it pledges the destruction of Israel and the death of Jews. That is in its core mission. That's who the people of the Gaza Strip elected. Now, understand, over the past decades, billions of dollars have flowed into the Gaza Strip in terms of relief, both from the United States, from Europe, from international agencies, from unwra. And that money, instead of actually helping the Gaza Strip, helping the Palestinians, instead of building schools and hospitals, instead of building roads, they take massive amounts of that money and they turn it directly to terrorism. So, for example, and I've been to Israel many times, and when you talk with the Israeli forces, they explain money that goes into Gaza, say to build water pipes to bring fresh water to people who need it. They take the water pipes, they cut it into six feet segments, and they use those water pipes, they turn them into rockets, and they fill them with propellant and explosive and shrapnel ball bearings and metal that they can then fire into Israel. And so the result is the people of Gaza, the Palestinians get denied relief they desperately need. Why? Because Hamas, who controls it, would rather kill Jews than help Palestinians. And every time I asked the Biden administration, okay, how do you make sure the money going into Gaza doesn't go to terrorism? Their response? You know what they say?
[11:08]
Ben Ferguson
What's that?
[11:09]
Senator Ted Cruz
Oh, we trust unruh. UNRA is great. Give it to unra. UNRA will be fantastic. And it has been evident for a long time that UNRA and Hamas are utterly intertwined. A dozen UNRWA employees were actual terrorists on October 7th. And yet the Biden administration position is we love UNWRA.
[11:30]
Ben Ferguson
Final question on this. Is there a way to actually stop the funds going into Gaza, going into unrwa, and what Donald Trump did it.
[11:39]
Senator Ted Cruz
Absolutely. You can stop it. The reason this money has gone is because Joe Biden places a higher priority on his political ideology than he does on keeping Americans safe or keeping Israelis safe and our allies safe. And the result is the world's a lot more dangerous.
[11:58]
Ben Ferguson
Now, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation, you can go back and listen to the full podcast from earlier this week. Now, on to story number two. Senator, there are a lot of Americans that are very angry that so many Republicans defected and did this deal with Democrats to send more funding to Ukraine than will be spent to secure our southern border, putting Americans last and putting others first around the world. And this money we don't have, we're going to have to borrow this money. We're going to have to pay interest on this money. And it seems like there's no end in sight for the obsession with sending money to Ukraine. We're sending more money to them than to Israel as well. Why did so many Democrats get along so well with so many Republicans on this one? How is it that so many Republicans can't just stand their ground?
[12:51]
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, it's incredibly frustrating. Look, you and I are recording this. It is 10:07pm Texas time on Tuesday night. I started this day, this morning at a little after 5am voting on the Senate floor. And the reason we were voting at 5am is because Chuck Schumer had kept the Senate in all night in order to try to force this vote through. And he succeeded. The vote was 70 to 29. In other words, 70 senators voted yes, 29 voted no. All the Democrats except three voted for the funding bill. And yet there were just 29 of us. I was a no. There were 29 of us. And that was 26 Republicans and three Democrats who voted no. And listen, my reasons for voting no, we've talked about at length. But it's worth revisiting. There are elements of this bill that I support. There are even elements of this bill that I strongly support. So, for example, this bill includes emergency military funding for Israel. I think that is incredibly important. I think we should have passed that months ago. This bill includes funding to help Taiwan defend itself against communist China. I think that is very important for US national security. And then most notably, this bill contains tens of billions of dollars of funding for Ukraine. Now, my views on that are, I think it is very important that Russia lose and Putin loses. And there are certainly circumstances in which I would be willing to support military funding for Ukraine to stop Russia, because I think that's in the United States interest. However, just a couple of months ago, every single Republican in the Senate, we stood united and we made a united stand. We said we will not fund additional money for Ukraine unless and until we secure our own border, that we're not going to spend billions to secure the border of another nation until America secures our border. And we're not going to spend billions to stop the invasion of another country until we stop the invasion of our own country. Now, when I said that, I meant it. Unfortunately, I think for a lot of my colleagues, they did not. Because, as you know, what happened was Chuck Schumer and the Democrats refused to negotiate and agree to meaningful border security. Instead they demanded a bill that in many ways would have made the border crisis worse, would have codified Joe Biden's open borders. And when as soon as the bill text was released, they negotiated in secret, within 24 hours the bill had collapsed because everyone reading it realized it was a terrible bill. What Republican leadership did next I think was indefensible. They said, okay, well if you people don't like Chuck, Chuck Schumer's open border proposal, then nevermind, we'll just pass all the funding with nothing on the border at all. I think that is an absurd position, but unfortunately 70 senators just cast a vote that way.
[16:11]
Ben Ferguson
So what happens now? Because what we're hearing is that this could move the House side. Speaker Johnson has indicated no or probably not, this isn't going to happen. And then now Democrats, apparently Akeem Jeffries is saying, all right, well they're going to get together and they're going to get a game plan to basically ram this down everyone's throat. What would that look like and what does that mean moving forward on top of the fact that the House majority for Republicans just got slimmer as well tonight because we've lost a special election.
[16:41]
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, that's exactly right. Look, if it is up to House leadership, if it's up to the speaker of the House, this bill will not pass. The speaker has said so unequivocally that the House is not going to take up and pass any military funding for Ukraine unless and until it contains serious and meaningful border security. And by the way, the House has already passed strong border security legislation. That is H.R. 2. The House passed that months ago. Chuck Schumer refused to take it up. I introduced HR2 in the Senate. I'm the author of HR2 of the United States Senate. I had it as an amendment to this bill. And by the way, I was clear, I said, you know what? If we pass HR2, I'll vote for this bill. If we pass strong legislation that forces Joe Biden to secure the border, I'm on board. And Schumer said not just no, but hell no, refused to allow a vote on HR2. When we were voting this morning, I was trying very hard to get a vote. Schumer locked down and blocked every single amendment vote. What I expect Republican leadership in the House to do is to take up this bill and to attach strong border security to it and then send it back to the Senate. That's what I think is likely to happen. There is a chance, and you referenced it. There's some Democrats talking about trying to do what's called a discharge petition, which is all the House Democrats teaming up with a handful of hawkish Republicans to basically overrule the speaker of the House and force the bill onto the floor. I don't think that will happen. And it is the sort of move that would be just absolute rebellion by the rank and file Republican members. But that is really what Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer's plan is, is to try to use this bill to directly attack the Republican speaker of the House. And I gotta say, Ben, I don't understand why, why Senate Republican leadership is trying to lead the attack on House Republican leadership.
[18:51]
Ben Ferguson
Well, one final question on this. What was in it for Republicans that just caved on this? I mean, I know, and I'm cynical because I've been around it probably too long and you're probably, you see it every day. So you're cynical, too. I'm like, all right, so what did you get, like, to make you not listen to the American people and just go along with this? What was the incentive there to side with the Democrats?
[19:16]
Senator Ted Cruz
So let me be a little more forgiving in this sense. You know, there are folks that said, what did they get? They're compromised. Look, in my experience, that's not how Washington works. I don't think there's anybody with a folder of people having, you know, sexual relations with barnyard animals. And I don't think this is compromise. I don't think it's. And I also don't think for the people who voted for this, that what did they get? I don't think that they're like the Biden family in terms of making millions of dollars off of this. I don't think that's why it happened, at least among the Republicans. I think a great many of them passionately believe that it is in America's interest for Ukraine to beat Russia. And I understand that sentiment. I think Russia's winning this war would be very, very bad for America and over the long term would be much more expensive for American taxpayers than it would be to defeat Russia and Ukraine. So I want Russia to lose. And I think it's combined with. There are a lot of Republican senators that basically they don't like a fight. And in any given fight, when you ask them, all right, let's hold the line and say, we won't do this unless we get real border security, they look at you and say, well, Chuck Schumer would never do that. And I don't understand why they expect Chuck Schumer to stand strong and never blink, and yet their solution is always well, therefore we got to give Schumer what he wants. But. But that's temperamentally the view of far too many Republicans in Congress.
[20:55]
Ben Ferguson
As before, 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. I want to get back to the big story number three of the week you may have missed. It's, it's amazing that Colorado took it this far because to me this seems like there's a decent chance this could be exactly what you thought. It could be a unanimous decision or even an 8 to 1.
[21:21]
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, and to underscore that, so we played. Obviously Justice Thomas and Justice Gorsuch are conservatives, but let's listen now to Justice Elena Kagan and remember what I said at the outset, which is that I believe this had a very good chance of being unanimous. I think the Chief justice desperately wants it to be unanimous. And I think the way it gets to be unanimous in particular is the Chief justice goes to Elena Kagan, who I think is the smartest of the liberal justices. She was the former dean of the Harvard Law School. She was former Solicitor General of the United States. She's very, very smart. Listen to Justice Kagan asking the Colorado lawyer Jason Murray questions.
[22:00]
Ben Ferguson
Before I play that for you, I want to tell you about our friends over at patriot mobile. For 10 years, patriot mobile has been America's only Christian conservative wireless provider. When I say only, trust me, they're the only ones. Patriot Mobile is a great supporter of this show. That's one of the reasons why I love them. I'm proud to partner with great companies that support conservative Christian values. And when you switch to Patriot Mobile, not only do they give you dependable nationwide coverage, giving you the ability to access all of the major networks, meaning you get the same exact coverage that you have right now. You get that same coverage you've been accustomed to, but without funding the woke left, you may not realize that Big Mobile supports Democrats and Democratic causes and candidates and Planned Parenthood with millions and millions of dollars in donations. That's why when you look at my cell phone, the top left, it says the word Patriot. I know every month when I get my bill, I am supporting conservative causes that I stand behind. They actually at Patriot mobile take about 5% of your bill every month and they give it back to free speech organizations, religious freedom organizations, organizations that support and protect the Sanctity of life, the second amendment as well as our military, our veterans, our first responder heroes and our wounded warriors. They have a hundred percent US based customer service team that makes switching easy. And you can keep your same cell phone number you have right now, keep your same phone if you have it that you have right now or upgrade to a new one. Plus the team will help you find the best plan for your needs and many times it can save you big money every month. So go to patriotmobile.com verdict that's patriotmobile.com verdict or call them and make the switch 972 Patriot that's 972 Patriot. Get free activation when you use the promo code verdict that's patriotmobile.com Verdict or call them 972-patriot that's 972-72 Patriot Take a listen to this very interesting back and forth between Justice Kagan and the Colorado lawyer Jason Murray.
[24:06]
C
Justice Kavanaugh, there has to be some process for determining those questions. And then the question becomes, does Anything in the 14th Amendment say that only Congress can create that process? And section five very clearly is not an exclusive provision. It says Congress shall have power.
[24:22]
D
But maybe put most boldly, I think that the question that you have to confront is why a single state should decide who gets to be president of the United States. In other words, you know, this question of whether a former president is disqualified for insurrection to be president again is, you know, just say it. It sounds awfully national to me. So whatever means there are to enforce it would suggest that they have to be federal, national means. Why does, you know, if you weren't from Colorado and you were from Wisconsin or you were from Michigan, and it really, you know, what the Michigan secretary of state did is going to make the difference between you know, whether candidate A is elected or candidate B is elected. Man it seems quite extraordinary, doesn't it?
[25:10]
C
No, your honor, because ultimately it's this court that's going to decide that question of federal constitutional eligibility and settle the issue for the nation. And certainly it's not unusual that questions of national importance come up.
[25:22]
D
Well, I suppose this court would be saying something along the lines of that a state has the power to do it. But I guess I was, I was asking you to go a little bit further and saying why should that be the right rule? Why should a single state have the ability to make this determination not only for their own citizens, but for the rest of the nation?
[25:43]
C
Because Article 2 gives them the power to appoint their own electors as they see fit. But if they're going to use a federal constitutional qualification as a ballot access determinant, then it's creating a federal constitutional question that then this court decides and other courts, other states, if this court affirms the decision below determining that President Trump is ineligible to be president, other states would still have to determine what effect that would have on their own state's law and state procedure.
[26:12]
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, I mean, if we, if we.
[26:14]
Ben Ferguson
I mean, Senator, even she, someone you would expect would be on the side of Colorado not really having it either.
[26:20]
Senator Ted Cruz
Yeah, but look, and as I said, I don't think any justices are going to vote with Colorado. I think we're going to see in all likelihood a unanimous decision. And she's focusing on, you know, earlier we played Ketanji Brown Jackson, and she was focusing on the fact that that president is not an officer. That is specified in the 14th Amendment, Section 3. Justice Kagan's point in the pointing out, well, why does one state get to do this? And if one state gets to do it, couldn't another state do something different? What do you do with that? And let's do one other clip which emphasizes that point. And you remember, we did an entire podcast talking about the amicus brief that I filed. And this was an argument that I made on behalf of 170 members of Congress. And I think it's a really powerful argument. Let's listen to Justice Alito asking about that argument in particular. Thank you.
[27:09]
Ben Ferguson
Thank you, counsel.
[27:10]
Senator Ted Cruz
Justice Thomas.
[27:12]
C
Justice Alito, suppose there's a country that proclaims again and again and again that the United States is its biggest enemy. And suppose that the president of the United States, for diplomatic reasons, think that it's in the best interest of the United States to provide funds or release funds that so that they can be used by that, by that country. Could a state determine that that person has given aid and comfort to the enemy and therefore keep that person off the ballot? No, your honor, this court has never interpreted the aid and comfort language, which also is present.
[27:53]
Senator Ted Cruz
So that's another enormous problem with Colorado's argument, which is that if Colorado is able to throw Donald Trump off the ballot, you're gonna see other states act, you're gonna see red states throw Joe Biden off the ballot. And the hypothetical that Sam Alito asked, it's a very good hypothetical. He's obviously talking about Iran. And Iran is led by an ayatollah who chants death to America, who has murdered hundreds upon hundreds of servicemen and women, American servicemen and women. Who's the biggest funder of state funder of terrorism in the world. And Joe Biden has flowed $100 billion to the Ayatollah. Now, as Justice Alito pointed out, Biden argues it's for diplomatic reasons, but, but under the argument of Colorado, you could, some other state could say, well, no, we conclude you're giving aid and comfort to our enemy. So Joe Biden is off the ballot. And the lawyer's answer was just, well, no, no, no, no, that's a different provision. So, no, no, we like Joe Biden, so you can't do that. I think that demonstrates that the theory behind this decision is insupportable and it leads to chaos and it fundamentally leads to judges battling each other to decide elections rather than the voters deciding elections. And so I'm going to reiterate, I think the chances that the U.S. supreme Court reverses this decision are 100%. And I think the chances are significant, more likely than not that the decision will be unanimous. And I think we will get it this month, the month of February.
[29:31]
Ben Ferguson
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.

Summary3 min read

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson – Episode Summary

Title: UNRWA Supports Terrorism, A Secure Ukraine before a Secure America, & Will SCOTUS be Unanimous in Colorado Week In Review
Host: Ben Ferguson
Guest: Senator Ted Cruz
Release Date: February 17, 2024

1. UNRWA Funding and Support for Terrorism

The episode opens with a critical examination of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and its alleged connections to terrorism. Senator Ted Cruz highlights concerns over U.S. funding being funneled through UNRWA to entities supporting terrorist activities against Israel.

Key Points:
- Misallocation of Funds: Cruz asserts that UNRWA, despite being a recipient of substantial U.S. donations, is channeling funds to Hamas and other terrorist organizations.
- Intelligence Insights: Referencing Colonel Benny Aharon of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), Cruz emphasizes the discovery of terrorist tunnels and infrastructure facilitated by intelligence gathered from UNRWA-supported areas (02:38).
- Legislative Efforts: Cruz mentions his initiative alongside 17 senators to halt funding to Gaza, countered by 150 House Democrats advocating continued support despite potential misuse by Hamas (03:06).
Notable Quotes:
- Senator Ted Cruz (04:59):
  "Joe Biden and the Democrats funded Hamas and the October 7 terror attack."
- Ben Ferguson (07:02):
  "It makes me angry to know that basically I'm funding the terrorists that took out these attacks."

2. A Secure Ukraine Before a Secure America: Funding Priorities and Bipartisan Disagreements

The discussion shifts to the contentious issue of U.S. funding priorities, particularly the substantial financial support allocated to Ukraine compared to domestic border security.

Key Points:
- Bipartisan Conflict: Cruz expresses frustration over the Democratic and Republican stalemate on funding Ukraine versus securing the U.S. border. He details the Senate vote of 70-29 in favor of the funding bill, highlighting the minimal Republican opposition (12:51).
- Republican Unified Stance: Initially, Republicans, including Cruz, opposed additional Ukraine funding without corresponding border security measures. However, internal disagreements led to a fragmented vote (16:10).
- Future Legislative Prospects: Cruz anticipates that the House will attach strong border security measures to any Ukraine funding bill, potentially sending it back to the Senate for further deliberation (16:41).
Notable Quotes:
- Senator Ted Cruz (19:16):
  "A great many of [Republicans] passionately believe that it is in America's interest for Ukraine to beat Russia."
- Ben Ferguson (20:55):
  "You're cynical, too. I'm like, all right, so what did you get, like, to make you not listen to the American people and just go along with this?"

3. SCOTUS and the Colorado Case Against Donald J. Trump

The episode delves into the Supreme Court's impending decision on the Colorado case concerning former President Donald J. Trump, speculating on the potential for a unanimous ruling.

Key Points:
- Case Overview: The Colorado case questions Trump's eligibility to run for president again, invoking the 14th Amendment's provisions against insurrection (21:21).
- Supreme Court Dynamics: Cruz predicts a likely unanimous decision from the Supreme Court, anticipating strong conservative support alongside potential alignment from liberal justices like Justice Elena Kagan (26:14).
- Implications of the Ruling: A unanimous decision could set a significant precedent, potentially affecting future presidential eligibility cases and the broader interpretation of federal versus state authority in electoral processes (27:08).
Notable Quotes:
- Senator Ted Cruz (27:10):
  "I think that demonstrates that the theory behind this decision is insupportable and it leads to chaos and it fundamentally leads to judges battling each other to decide elections rather than the voters deciding elections."
- Justice Alito (27:11) [As discussed by Cruz]:
  "This court has never interpreted the aid and comfort language, which also is present."

Conclusion

In this episode of The 47 Morning Update, Ben Ferguson engages Senator Ted Cruz in a robust discussion on critical national security issues. From scrutinizing U.S. funding through UNRWA and its inadvertent support of terrorism to the contentious allocation of funds between Ukraine and domestic border security, Cruz provides incisive commentary on the administration's policies. Additionally, the conversation navigates the anticipated Supreme Court decision on the Colorado case against Donald Trump, highlighting its potential ramifications for future electoral integrity and federal-state dynamics.

Listeners seeking an in-depth analysis of these pressing topics will find this episode both informative and thought-provoking, encapsulating the complex interplay between U.S. foreign aid, national security, and judicial oversight.

For a complete understanding and additional insights, listeners are encouraged to download and listen to the full podcast episode.

Loading summary

Transcript40 lines

[00:01]
Ben Ferguson
Welcome. It's verdict with Senator Ted Cruz. Week in Review. Ben Ferguson with you. And these are the stories that you may have missed that we talked about this week. First up, shocking funding for the United nations going directly to terrorists that were attacking Israel. We'll have all the details on that. Plus, many Americans are very angry over massive funding still being forced down our throats to go to Ukraine. So what's behind this funding and why are they getting so much cash? And finally, could there be a unanimous decision from the Supreme Court over the Colorado case against Donald J. Trump? It's the week in review and it starts right now. So let's follow the money here. If, if UNR is getting funds from the United nations and we're the biggest donor to the United nations, we're giving money and it's being funneled to those that are helping carry out terrorist attacks as well as protecting terrorists and the planning and, and the rockets that are being shot into Israel for, for years now while they've been in the same building.
[01:13]
Senator Ted Cruz
Now that's exactly right. As, as the Times of Israel reported, UNRES Gaza headquarters is located in Gaza cities upscale Ramal neighborhood, an area that, that the Israeli the IDF had previously operated in and dismantled the local Hamas battalion and withdrawn its troops from. And here's a quote from Colonel Benny Aharon from the IDF who says, quote, the IDF was here previously. The first time was to destroy the enemy. But when we were here the last time, we collected a lot of intelligence documents and findings, a lot of prisoners. And thanks to this, we reached here now we carried out a targeted operation to take this capability away. We had a basis of information, but not enough to be able to dig down 20 meters to find it. 20 meters, about 60ft. We needed a bit more. There's information we get from prisoners we capture from computers we find from documents, maps. And they went down and discovered this terror tunnel. Hazan, who is tasked with coordinating the brigade's underground operation, said the main entrance to the tunnel was located under an unrush school in the area.
[02:39]
Ben Ferguson
Wow.
[02:39]
Senator Ted Cruz
And, and this. Look, the UN you want to talk about, number one, the UN has always been just a pit of anti Semitism, anti Israel hatred. But they have funneled billions of dollars to unwra, which in turn is supporting terrorists and supporting Hamas and employing people who participated in, in the October 7 terror attack.
[03:07]
Ben Ferguson
What will America's response be to this? As the Biden administration said, anything. Are there anyone in his administration or the UN Ambassador asking questions, saying what the hell's going on at the United Nations Relief and Work Agency that's been knowingly, as you described it, providing support to Hamas terrorists who committed these atrocities against over a thousand Israelis and dozens of Americans as well. Which, which, which I think has been overlooked as well by this administration.
[03:33]
Senator Ted Cruz
Yes. So sadly, the Biden administration, from day one has been funneling money into Gaza. Look, early on in the Biden administration, I led a group of 17 senators saying do not give money to Gaza because if you give money to Gaza, that will flow directly to Hamas and be used for terrorist activities. At the time I sent that letter, there were 150 House Democrats who sent a letter to the administration saying please do give money to Gaza even though it will likely be used by Hamas for terrorism. We now know because it's been publicly reported how the Biden administration resolved that issue. The Biden administration concluded that it was, quote, highly likely. Those are their, their terms. Highly likely that money given to Gaza would be used by Hamas for terrorism. Now ordinarily, Ben, under US Anti terrorism law, if it's highly likely the money will be used for terrorism, you can't send the money. That would be common sense. Well, with the Biden administration did instead is they formally waived U.S. anti terrorism law because their political ideology, they so wanted to send the money, they didn't care if it would be used by Hamas for terrorism. So in a very real sense, Joe Biden and the Democrats funded hamas and the October 7 terror attack.
[04:59]
Ben Ferguson
Which goes back to the bigger question in the aid. We, it looks like American aid. We say, hey, we're going to send some to Israel, but we're also wanting to send aid to Gaza. How do we not, how do we assure that that money is not going to go directly in the hands of the terrorists?
[05:17]
Senator Ted Cruz
We can't. And it is truly asinine. In the wake of this horrific terror attack, what did Joe Biden and the Democrats want to do? Let's send more money to Gaza. Let's send more money to Gaza. And my view is stop sending money to people who want to kill us. If you cannot assure that the money doesn't go to terrorists who want to murder Americans, don't send the money. And by the way, this past week I led a group of senators urging the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into a US based nonprofit that raises money for unrwa. And it's a group called UNWRA usa, which is a non profit with the self described mission to support the, quote, work of UNRWA through fundraising, education and advocacy in the United States. And as I pointed out, here's what I wrote in the letter with several other senators, quote, we write to call on you to open a criminal investigation into UNRE usa, its principles and its leadership for knowingly providing material support to foreign terrorist organizations, including Hamas. This support facilitated and continues to facilitate terrorism, including the October 7 terrorist attack in which Palestinian terrorists killed or kidnapped dozens of Americans and over 1,200 Israelis. According to its 2021 annual report, UNRE USA dispersed nearly $5 million in donations to UNRWA that year, making the organization UNRWA's largest institutional donor.
[07:02]
Ben Ferguson
I mean, you hear that and is an American taxpayer. It makes me angry to know that basically I'm funding the terrorists that took out these attacks, not just on the people in Israel, but we still have not, I think, gotten a full accounting from this administration on Americans that were killed and also taken hostage.
[07:27]
Senator Ted Cruz
Now, sadly, that's right. And the Biden administration we've talked about before, when it comes to foreign policy, it is all politics all the time. And they set aside US national security, they set aside the interest of protecting our allies, and they especially set aside the interest of protecting American citizens. And it's made the world much more dangerous.
[07:48]
Ben Ferguson
Senator, I want to ask you another question about just the response from this administration when this type of news comes out. There seems to be a no response or a very timid response. And I worry that's because they've known that there's been this level of corruption for quite some time. They're just now being faced with it in the government. What do we. When did they know about the corruption with, with unra and when did the warning sign start hitting them? Was it before this attack or can they play done now?
[08:23]
Senator Ted Cruz
We've known about it a long time and I will say it's bad thing when I question the Biden administration, when I question the State Department and I press them. Why do you keep giving hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza? Gaza is run by Hamas. Hamas is the government of Gaza and Hamas is a terror.
[08:41]
Ben Ferguson
People don't believe you when you say that just the tunnel system that we've seen since the Israelis have gone in is, is more than enough proof they.
[08:52]
Senator Ted Cruz
Can understand the Palestinians. So part of the leftist rhetoric. They say Gaza is the largest open air prison on earth. That's a lie. You know, Gaza is not run by Israel. Gaza is run by the Palestinians. Israel left the Gaza Strip. So the Gaza Strip is a portion of what used to be Israel and it is on the south west portion of Israel. And they just left. Israel left and said, all right, there's a massive population of Palestinians. You guys are in charge. You run it. And they had elections in Gaza. And the people of the Gaza Strip elected Hamas, which is a terrorist organization, it pledges the destruction of Israel and the death of Jews. That is in its core mission. That's who the people of the Gaza Strip elected. Now, understand, over the past decades, billions of dollars have flowed into the Gaza Strip in terms of relief, both from the United States, from Europe, from international agencies, from unwra. And that money, instead of actually helping the Gaza Strip, helping the Palestinians, instead of building schools and hospitals, instead of building roads, they take massive amounts of that money and they turn it directly to terrorism. So, for example, and I've been to Israel many times, and when you talk with the Israeli forces, they explain money that goes into Gaza, say to build water pipes to bring fresh water to people who need it. They take the water pipes, they cut it into six feet segments, and they use those water pipes, they turn them into rockets, and they fill them with propellant and explosive and shrapnel ball bearings and metal that they can then fire into Israel. And so the result is the people of Gaza, the Palestinians get denied relief they desperately need. Why? Because Hamas, who controls it, would rather kill Jews than help Palestinians. And every time I asked the Biden administration, okay, how do you make sure the money going into Gaza doesn't go to terrorism? Their response? You know what they say?
[11:08]
Ben Ferguson
What's that?
[11:09]
Senator Ted Cruz
Oh, we trust unruh. UNRA is great. Give it to unra. UNRA will be fantastic. And it has been evident for a long time that UNRA and Hamas are utterly intertwined. A dozen UNRWA employees were actual terrorists on October 7th. And yet the Biden administration position is we love UNWRA.
[11:30]
Ben Ferguson
Final question on this. Is there a way to actually stop the funds going into Gaza, going into unrwa, and what Donald Trump did it.
[11:39]
Senator Ted Cruz
Absolutely. You can stop it. The reason this money has gone is because Joe Biden places a higher priority on his political ideology than he does on keeping Americans safe or keeping Israelis safe and our allies safe. And the result is the world's a lot more dangerous.
[11:58]
Ben Ferguson
Now, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation, you can go back and listen to the full podcast from earlier this week. Now, on to story number two. Senator, there are a lot of Americans that are very angry that so many Republicans defected and did this deal with Democrats to send more funding to Ukraine than will be spent to secure our southern border, putting Americans last and putting others first around the world. And this money we don't have, we're going to have to borrow this money. We're going to have to pay interest on this money. And it seems like there's no end in sight for the obsession with sending money to Ukraine. We're sending more money to them than to Israel as well. Why did so many Democrats get along so well with so many Republicans on this one? How is it that so many Republicans can't just stand their ground?
[12:51]
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, it's incredibly frustrating. Look, you and I are recording this. It is 10:07pm Texas time on Tuesday night. I started this day, this morning at a little after 5am voting on the Senate floor. And the reason we were voting at 5am is because Chuck Schumer had kept the Senate in all night in order to try to force this vote through. And he succeeded. The vote was 70 to 29. In other words, 70 senators voted yes, 29 voted no. All the Democrats except three voted for the funding bill. And yet there were just 29 of us. I was a no. There were 29 of us. And that was 26 Republicans and three Democrats who voted no. And listen, my reasons for voting no, we've talked about at length. But it's worth revisiting. There are elements of this bill that I support. There are even elements of this bill that I strongly support. So, for example, this bill includes emergency military funding for Israel. I think that is incredibly important. I think we should have passed that months ago. This bill includes funding to help Taiwan defend itself against communist China. I think that is very important for US national security. And then most notably, this bill contains tens of billions of dollars of funding for Ukraine. Now, my views on that are, I think it is very important that Russia lose and Putin loses. And there are certainly circumstances in which I would be willing to support military funding for Ukraine to stop Russia, because I think that's in the United States interest. However, just a couple of months ago, every single Republican in the Senate, we stood united and we made a united stand. We said we will not fund additional money for Ukraine unless and until we secure our own border, that we're not going to spend billions to secure the border of another nation until America secures our border. And we're not going to spend billions to stop the invasion of another country until we stop the invasion of our own country. Now, when I said that, I meant it. Unfortunately, I think for a lot of my colleagues, they did not. Because, as you know, what happened was Chuck Schumer and the Democrats refused to negotiate and agree to meaningful border security. Instead they demanded a bill that in many ways would have made the border crisis worse, would have codified Joe Biden's open borders. And when as soon as the bill text was released, they negotiated in secret, within 24 hours the bill had collapsed because everyone reading it realized it was a terrible bill. What Republican leadership did next I think was indefensible. They said, okay, well if you people don't like Chuck, Chuck Schumer's open border proposal, then nevermind, we'll just pass all the funding with nothing on the border at all. I think that is an absurd position, but unfortunately 70 senators just cast a vote that way.
[16:11]
Ben Ferguson
So what happens now? Because what we're hearing is that this could move the House side. Speaker Johnson has indicated no or probably not, this isn't going to happen. And then now Democrats, apparently Akeem Jeffries is saying, all right, well they're going to get together and they're going to get a game plan to basically ram this down everyone's throat. What would that look like and what does that mean moving forward on top of the fact that the House majority for Republicans just got slimmer as well tonight because we've lost a special election.
[16:41]
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, that's exactly right. Look, if it is up to House leadership, if it's up to the speaker of the House, this bill will not pass. The speaker has said so unequivocally that the House is not going to take up and pass any military funding for Ukraine unless and until it contains serious and meaningful border security. And by the way, the House has already passed strong border security legislation. That is H.R. 2. The House passed that months ago. Chuck Schumer refused to take it up. I introduced HR2 in the Senate. I'm the author of HR2 of the United States Senate. I had it as an amendment to this bill. And by the way, I was clear, I said, you know what? If we pass HR2, I'll vote for this bill. If we pass strong legislation that forces Joe Biden to secure the border, I'm on board. And Schumer said not just no, but hell no, refused to allow a vote on HR2. When we were voting this morning, I was trying very hard to get a vote. Schumer locked down and blocked every single amendment vote. What I expect Republican leadership in the House to do is to take up this bill and to attach strong border security to it and then send it back to the Senate. That's what I think is likely to happen. There is a chance, and you referenced it. There's some Democrats talking about trying to do what's called a discharge petition, which is all the House Democrats teaming up with a handful of hawkish Republicans to basically overrule the speaker of the House and force the bill onto the floor. I don't think that will happen. And it is the sort of move that would be just absolute rebellion by the rank and file Republican members. But that is really what Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer's plan is, is to try to use this bill to directly attack the Republican speaker of the House. And I gotta say, Ben, I don't understand why, why Senate Republican leadership is trying to lead the attack on House Republican leadership.
[18:51]
Ben Ferguson
Well, one final question on this. What was in it for Republicans that just caved on this? I mean, I know, and I'm cynical because I've been around it probably too long and you're probably, you see it every day. So you're cynical, too. I'm like, all right, so what did you get, like, to make you not listen to the American people and just go along with this? What was the incentive there to side with the Democrats?
[19:16]
Senator Ted Cruz
So let me be a little more forgiving in this sense. You know, there are folks that said, what did they get? They're compromised. Look, in my experience, that's not how Washington works. I don't think there's anybody with a folder of people having, you know, sexual relations with barnyard animals. And I don't think this is compromise. I don't think it's. And I also don't think for the people who voted for this, that what did they get? I don't think that they're like the Biden family in terms of making millions of dollars off of this. I don't think that's why it happened, at least among the Republicans. I think a great many of them passionately believe that it is in America's interest for Ukraine to beat Russia. And I understand that sentiment. I think Russia's winning this war would be very, very bad for America and over the long term would be much more expensive for American taxpayers than it would be to defeat Russia and Ukraine. So I want Russia to lose. And I think it's combined with. There are a lot of Republican senators that basically they don't like a fight. And in any given fight, when you ask them, all right, let's hold the line and say, we won't do this unless we get real border security, they look at you and say, well, Chuck Schumer would never do that. And I don't understand why they expect Chuck Schumer to stand strong and never blink, and yet their solution is always well, therefore we got to give Schumer what he wants. But. But that's temperamentally the view of far too many Republicans in Congress.
[20:55]
Ben Ferguson
As before, 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. I want to get back to the big story number three of the week you may have missed. It's, it's amazing that Colorado took it this far because to me this seems like there's a decent chance this could be exactly what you thought. It could be a unanimous decision or even an 8 to 1.
[21:21]
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, and to underscore that, so we played. Obviously Justice Thomas and Justice Gorsuch are conservatives, but let's listen now to Justice Elena Kagan and remember what I said at the outset, which is that I believe this had a very good chance of being unanimous. I think the Chief justice desperately wants it to be unanimous. And I think the way it gets to be unanimous in particular is the Chief justice goes to Elena Kagan, who I think is the smartest of the liberal justices. She was the former dean of the Harvard Law School. She was former Solicitor General of the United States. She's very, very smart. Listen to Justice Kagan asking the Colorado lawyer Jason Murray questions.
[22:00]
Ben Ferguson
Before I play that for you, I want to tell you about our friends over at patriot mobile. For 10 years, patriot mobile has been America's only Christian conservative wireless provider. When I say only, trust me, they're the only ones. Patriot Mobile is a great supporter of this show. That's one of the reasons why I love them. I'm proud to partner with great companies that support conservative Christian values. And when you switch to Patriot Mobile, not only do they give you dependable nationwide coverage, giving you the ability to access all of the major networks, meaning you get the same exact coverage that you have right now. You get that same coverage you've been accustomed to, but without funding the woke left, you may not realize that Big Mobile supports Democrats and Democratic causes and candidates and Planned Parenthood with millions and millions of dollars in donations. That's why when you look at my cell phone, the top left, it says the word Patriot. I know every month when I get my bill, I am supporting conservative causes that I stand behind. They actually at Patriot mobile take about 5% of your bill every month and they give it back to free speech organizations, religious freedom organizations, organizations that support and protect the Sanctity of life, the second amendment as well as our military, our veterans, our first responder heroes and our wounded warriors. They have a hundred percent US based customer service team that makes switching easy. And you can keep your same cell phone number you have right now, keep your same phone if you have it that you have right now or upgrade to a new one. Plus the team will help you find the best plan for your needs and many times it can save you big money every month. So go to patriotmobile.com verdict that's patriotmobile.com verdict or call them and make the switch 972 Patriot that's 972 Patriot. Get free activation when you use the promo code verdict that's patriotmobile.com Verdict or call them 972-patriot that's 972-72 Patriot Take a listen to this very interesting back and forth between Justice Kagan and the Colorado lawyer Jason Murray.
[24:06]
C
Justice Kavanaugh, there has to be some process for determining those questions. And then the question becomes, does Anything in the 14th Amendment say that only Congress can create that process? And section five very clearly is not an exclusive provision. It says Congress shall have power.
[24:22]
D
But maybe put most boldly, I think that the question that you have to confront is why a single state should decide who gets to be president of the United States. In other words, you know, this question of whether a former president is disqualified for insurrection to be president again is, you know, just say it. It sounds awfully national to me. So whatever means there are to enforce it would suggest that they have to be federal, national means. Why does, you know, if you weren't from Colorado and you were from Wisconsin or you were from Michigan, and it really, you know, what the Michigan secretary of state did is going to make the difference between you know, whether candidate A is elected or candidate B is elected. Man it seems quite extraordinary, doesn't it?
[25:10]
C
No, your honor, because ultimately it's this court that's going to decide that question of federal constitutional eligibility and settle the issue for the nation. And certainly it's not unusual that questions of national importance come up.
[25:22]
D
Well, I suppose this court would be saying something along the lines of that a state has the power to do it. But I guess I was, I was asking you to go a little bit further and saying why should that be the right rule? Why should a single state have the ability to make this determination not only for their own citizens, but for the rest of the nation?
[25:43]
C
Because Article 2 gives them the power to appoint their own electors as they see fit. But if they're going to use a federal constitutional qualification as a ballot access determinant, then it's creating a federal constitutional question that then this court decides and other courts, other states, if this court affirms the decision below determining that President Trump is ineligible to be president, other states would still have to determine what effect that would have on their own state's law and state procedure.
[26:12]
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, I mean, if we, if we.
[26:14]
Ben Ferguson
I mean, Senator, even she, someone you would expect would be on the side of Colorado not really having it either.
[26:20]
Senator Ted Cruz
Yeah, but look, and as I said, I don't think any justices are going to vote with Colorado. I think we're going to see in all likelihood a unanimous decision. And she's focusing on, you know, earlier we played Ketanji Brown Jackson, and she was focusing on the fact that that president is not an officer. That is specified in the 14th Amendment, Section 3. Justice Kagan's point in the pointing out, well, why does one state get to do this? And if one state gets to do it, couldn't another state do something different? What do you do with that? And let's do one other clip which emphasizes that point. And you remember, we did an entire podcast talking about the amicus brief that I filed. And this was an argument that I made on behalf of 170 members of Congress. And I think it's a really powerful argument. Let's listen to Justice Alito asking about that argument in particular. Thank you.
[27:09]
Ben Ferguson
Thank you, counsel.
[27:10]
Senator Ted Cruz
Justice Thomas.
[27:12]
C
Justice Alito, suppose there's a country that proclaims again and again and again that the United States is its biggest enemy. And suppose that the president of the United States, for diplomatic reasons, think that it's in the best interest of the United States to provide funds or release funds that so that they can be used by that, by that country. Could a state determine that that person has given aid and comfort to the enemy and therefore keep that person off the ballot? No, your honor, this court has never interpreted the aid and comfort language, which also is present.
[27:53]
Senator Ted Cruz
So that's another enormous problem with Colorado's argument, which is that if Colorado is able to throw Donald Trump off the ballot, you're gonna see other states act, you're gonna see red states throw Joe Biden off the ballot. And the hypothetical that Sam Alito asked, it's a very good hypothetical. He's obviously talking about Iran. And Iran is led by an ayatollah who chants death to America, who has murdered hundreds upon hundreds of servicemen and women, American servicemen and women. Who's the biggest funder of state funder of terrorism in the world. And Joe Biden has flowed $100 billion to the Ayatollah. Now, as Justice Alito pointed out, Biden argues it's for diplomatic reasons, but, but under the argument of Colorado, you could, some other state could say, well, no, we conclude you're giving aid and comfort to our enemy. So Joe Biden is off the ballot. And the lawyer's answer was just, well, no, no, no, no, that's a different provision. So, no, no, we like Joe Biden, so you can't do that. I think that demonstrates that the theory behind this decision is insupportable and it leads to chaos and it fundamentally leads to judges battling each other to decide elections rather than the voters deciding elections. And so I'm going to reiterate, I think the chances that the U.S. supreme Court reverses this decision are 100%. And I think the chances are significant, more likely than not that the decision will be unanimous. And I think we will get it this month, the month of February.
[29:31]
Ben Ferguson
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.