← Verdict with Ted Cruz
Verdict with Ted Cruz
Dems in Congress want to BLOCK Trump, Trump\Cruz at Turning Point & Covid Lab Leak Cover Up Week In Review
00:37:26
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- [00:00]
Ryan Seacrest
You wake up, put on your ray Ban meta glasses. You're living all in. You realize you need coffee so you.
- [00:06]
Colleen Witt
Say hey Meta, how do I make.
- [00:08]
Ted Cruz
A latte brew two shots of espresso.
- [00:10]
Ryan Seacrest
After Meta AI gets you caffeinated, you're ready for some beats.
- [00:13]
Colleen Witt
Hey Meta Play hip hop music.
- [00:15]
Ryan Seacrest
You head to meet some friends but can't remember the place.
- [00:18]
Colleen Witt
Hey Meta call Eva Ray banned Meta.
- [00:22]
Ryan Seacrest
Glasses the next generation of AI glasses. Just say hey Meta to harness the power of Meta AI shop now at meta.com smartglasses it is Ryan Seacrest here.
- [00:32]
Ted Cruz
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- [01:38]
Ben Ferguson
Welcome. It is verdict with Ted Cruz, the week in review, Ben Ferguson with you. And these are some of the big stories that you might have missed that we talked about this week. First up, it's not a surprise, but it is a little shocking. The Democrats are now going all in saying it is time to make sure they keep Donald Trump out of the White House. How do they want to do it? By having Congress say, no, you cannot be president. This coming from the same party that said that Donald Trump was a, quote, threat to democracy, that he would be a dictator and a tyrant and he wouldn't respect the outcome of the election and if he got into office, he would never leave office. Well, now the Democrats, they're doing exactly what they said Donald Trump was going to do. Also, there was A very interesting moment that happened at the Turning Point USA conference out in Arizona. And it involved Senator Ted Cruz and Donald Trump sharing the stage, plus his speech at that event. Well, it was a very, very interesting one, especially about the future of this country. We're going to have that for you as well. And finally, the COVID cover up. We're now finding out a lot more about just how far they went to cover up the lab leak theory and now what we know about what the government did under Fauci to cover up all of it. It's the Weekend Review and it starts right now. The way that you're talking about accountability maybe explains why we are now seeing Democrats write articles saying that it's time to steal the election from Donald Trump. In the Hill, for example, Congress has the power to block Trump from taking office, but lawmakers must, quote, act now. This was an opinion piece written by two different individuals demanding that the Democrats refuse to accept the outcome of the election. So much for the party that's obsessed with democracy, right?
- [03:39]
Ted Cruz
Yeah. I gotta say, this is, this is an article that was in the Hill that it came out again on December 26, day after Christmas. It is entitled, Congress has the Power to Block Trump from Taking Office But Lawmakers must act Now. And it is by Evan Davis and David Schulte, who. I don't know either one of these individuals. I don't know anything about them. Their bio says Evan Davis was editor in chief of the Columbia Law Review and David Schulte was editor in chief of the Yale Law Journal. Both clerked for Justice Potter Stewart. Davis is a New York lawyer, served as president of the New York City Bar. And Schulte is a Chicago investment banker. I don't know these guys, but it's been a long time since Potter Stewart served on the court. Which means these are not spring chickens. They were law clerks a long time ago. I mean, I clerked for Chief justice Rehnquist in 1996, and by the time I was there, Potter Stewart had been long, long gone. And I gotta say that the most screamingly funny part of it is they begin their bios with they were editor in chief of the Columbia Law Review and the Yale Law Journal. Like, I'm sorry, these are presumably accomplished lawyers who are grown ass adults and they're quoting the Law Review they were on when they were 24 years old. That's just ridiculous. And it actually, it makes the rest of the article make sense. Because, listen, part of the reason our academy is so messed up is you have people who are disconnected from reality, who are hardcore leftist. Far too many people in our universities are openly Marxist. When I was at Harvard Law School, there were more professors on the faculty who were explicitly Marxist than there were who were Republican. And it wasn't even close. There were more than a dozen by their own self description Marxist professors. There was only one open Republican on the faculty when I was there. But what these two numbskulls are arguing is that Congress, when we come together on January 6, should block Trump from becoming president. And we should do so, they argue, under the 14th Amendment, Section 3 of the Constitution that says no person shall hold any office, civil or military, who having previously taken an oath to support the Constitution, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same. Now they argue this has been disqualification. The evidence of Trump's engagement in insurrection is overwhelming. It has been decided in three separate forums, they write, two of which are fully contested with the active participation of Trump's counsel. The first was Trump's second impeachment trial. The second contested proceeding was Colorado's five day judicial process do judicial due process hearing where they found that Trump had engaged in insurrection and barred him from the ballot. And finally there is the bipartisan inquiry of the House select committee to investigate January 6th. Now, the stupidity of this argument literally leaps off of every syllable of every word that they have written. Let's take the first, okay? A bunch of partisan Democrats impeach Trump because they hate him. And by the way, to be clear, verdict was launched in response not to the second impeachment, but in response to the first impeachment trial because we have seen lawfare against Donald Trump. Trump derangement syndrome is real. It is a serious mental illness. These people are friggin nuts. They hate his guts. They've lost their minds. And at this point, understand these two numbskulls and every other Democrat who engages in fantasy about this is an election denier and an insurrectionist. They are trying to say we don't care that the voters voted. We don't care that the result was overwhelming. We don't care that of the seven contested battleground states, Donald Trump one, not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, but seven. All seven. We don't care. We are angry leftists and their argument is we should block it. Now, to be clear, they said there were three, three different proceedings that had determined he was an insurrectionist. The first was the impeachment trial. Of course, the impeachment trial is two parts. One is the impeachment in the House of Representatives and partisan Democrats did impeach him, but then it went to the Senate and there was a trial. And at the end of the trial, Donald Trump was acquitted. They ignore that fact. That literally is not mentioned in the rap ad. The second is the Colorado the radical partisan decision of the Colorado Supreme Court, except for the fact that the U.S. supreme Court unanimously reversed that decision, by the way, that's another prediction I made on this podcast. When the Colorado Supreme Court came back down, I said, this will be reversed and it will be reversed unanimously. That's what the court did. They barely acknowledge the Supreme Court reversed it, but they just kind of ignore it and say, well, that's another way it was determined in a decision that has been reversed unanimously by the Supreme Court. And the third, I really laugh is, is the, quote, bipartisan inquiry of the House select committee to investigate January 6th. Now, it's bipartisan because Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, two people fully afflicted by Trump derangement syndrome, were included. Of course, Nancy Pelosi allowed no Republicans.
- [08:49]
Ben Ferguson
On it, by the way, voted for Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. So let's not forget that. But they're, oh, they act like they were Republicans. No, they're not.
- [08:57]
Ted Cruz
Look, to be clear. And by the way, both of them also campaigned against me. I was really grateful for it. I think that was quite helpful. Probably drove votes my way. But to call that inquiry bipartisan when the way committees are put together on Capitol Hill is that both sides pick the Republicans pick the Republicans on the committee, the Democrats pick the Democrats on the committee. Well, for the January 6th Committee, Nancy Pelosi said, no, no, no, I'm picking the Republicans. And the only Republicans I will allow on are people who hate Donald Trump, who are foaming at the mouth, who will do everything they can to destroy Donald Trump. They're the only ones I will allow on. And so, you know, when you had other Republicans that Kevin McCarthy was trying to put on, Nancy Pelosi said, nope, they are not welcome. We only take Republicans who agree with the Democrats on everything. That ain't a bipartisan inquiry. And by the way, we're getting more and more evidence of just how sk that was. The point is, at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what this op ed was, other than it is a window into the eyes of what the hard left is. They hate Trump so much. Sigmund Freud talked about projection and the left engages in projection all the time. Everything they accuse their enemies of doing is what they are doing. They claim to be defending democracy. This may be the most anti democratic article I have ever read which is saying that Congress should say I don't care that the voters elected Trump. And by the way, they don't dispute that the voters elect Trump. They fully accept yes, the American people came to vote and want Donald Trump, but we know better than they do and and and so take a stand and and take a stand to block what the voters want. Why? Because we are Democrats and we hate democracy? They don't say that, but that's clearly what what what they conclude.
- [10:54]
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.
- [11:01]
Ted Cruz
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- [11:32]
Unknown
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- [12:01]
Christmas and Hanukkah season is a time of hope and peace for many of us, but for those in Israel facing the ongoing war, it's a time of fear and uncertainty. The hardships are felt by everyone, with many people struggling to afford food and basic necessities during this holiday season. Many living through the war in the Holy Land are grieving the loss of loved ones while also enduring isolation and hunger. We must not let them feel forgotten by the rest of the world. That's why I'm partnering with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Your special holiday gift to the Fellowship helps provide a Hanukkah food box filled with basic necessities and essentials to bring nourishment, warmth and comfort to someone in need. Give the gift of hope in answered prayers this holiday season. Go to supportifcj.org to donate now. That's supportifcj.org or call to give at 888488 ifcj that's 888-488-4325.
- [13:02]
Ben Ferguson
Now on to story number two. All right, so let's paint the stage here for. For everybody that may not have seen your comments at Turning Point, because when Donald Trump went up on stage, there was a really funny moment you mentioned in the intro there, and that was you being backstage. And then what was funny was, is people started putting on social media as Senator Cruz sneaking up on Trump on stage, which made me laugh because he was looking for you. And I'm glad that the Secret Service didn't, you know, like, tackle you or anything, but this is what Donald Trump had to say when he was looking for you. It was hilarious.
- [13:37]
Donald Trump
Pleased to be joined by a man who just also, we. We really did well in Texas. And I heard Ted's speech, and he can come up and speak more if he wants, or he can just, you know, Ted's going to be going to a big event in a little while. Where's Ted Cruz? Is he here? He's here someplace. Ted. Ted. Oh, oh, oh, he's in trouble. He's in trou.
- [14:10]
Ted Cruz
By the way, the cheering right there as I'm walking out behind him.
- [14:13]
Donald Trump
Oh, oh, good. He's not in trouble.
- [14:27]
Unknown
Keep Texas. Texas. Amen. And I've got to say, this election has given President Donald J. Trump a Republican Senate and a Republican House, a clear mandate to deliver on our promises. One month from today, President Trump will secure the border. We are going to bring back jobs, we are going to lower prices. We are going to protect American families. We are going to put criminals in jail. We are going to keep our kids safe. We are going to end foreign wars with victory. And I'll tell you, Mr. President, the results of this election. Seven battleground states. You won all seven. The people elected a Republican Senate and a Republican House to have your back. And we. We are going to deliver results. And if I can speak parochially for a minute, one of the most consequential things that happened in this race in Texas. You won profoundly in Texas, and both you and I won a majority of Hispanic votes in the great state of Texas. That is unfortunate, unprecedented. That is generational change, and it demonstrates that we are going to protect our nation, we are going to bring our country back, and we are going to make America great again.
- [16:32]
Donald Trump
He's a great. He's actually a great guy. Was. Was really out there working. Oh, I'm so glad he was here. Oh, that was. That was an amazing moment.
- [16:48]
Ben Ferguson
I gotta tell you. I love just the end there. He's smiling, he's grinning. The demeanor and the interaction is just seems to be very different this time than it compared to 2016. It's like you guys are on the same football team going into the playoffs as a team, and let's whoop some ass.
- [17:08]
Ted Cruz
Well, I think that's exactly right. And I gotta say, at the entire America Fest, Trump was happy, he was relaxed, he was feeling good. You could see it in a way that just he was loose and having fun. And listen, we're coming in with an incredible mandate. We're gonna. We're going to transform, I believe, the country. And I think he's ready to get to work, and I know I am, and I think all of us are.
- [17:38]
Ben Ferguson
So let's talk about his agenda for a second. One of the things you talked about was the border. That seems to be a very central point of what he keeps talking about over and over again. And is that something that you and him have talked about very clearly, like, hey, this is square. This is step one, let's go, we're gonna knock this out, day one?
- [18:00]
Ted Cruz
Absolutely. And the clearest single mandate of this election is to secure the border. People are fed up with Joe Biden and the Democrats open borders. They want it to end. They want the border secured, and we're gonna get that done. And Trump understands that. I think Republicans in the Senate understand that. Republicans in the House understand that. And we're going to get it done, which is exactly what the voters sent us there to do.
- [18:25]
Ben Ferguson
I want to get back to the. The Turning Point event that you just left. Obviously, Donald Trump was there. You were asked to speak, and I want you to give us a quick preview before we play your speech, because this is one of those speeches that I think is really about setting the tone for what's coming in January when you guys have control of the Senate and the House and the White House.
- [18:51]
Ted Cruz
Well, I started this morning speaking, and this is about an hour before the exchange that you heard at the beginning of the podcast with President Trump and me. I addressed, as I said, Over 3,000 young people, activists, at Turning Point. It was incredible. And I really wanted to encourage them. I wanted to encourage them that they had had a profound impact on this election, on this country. And I also wanted to focus on now that we've won, we've got a job to do. And so what I attempted to do in these remarks is, is lay out here are the deliverables that we need to accomplish in the next two years to have a clear vision for what to Expect. I'm really excited. I'm excited about President Trump being reelected and coming back into office. I'm excited about a Republican Senate and a Republican House. But I also have in front of me the absolute seriousness we need to deliver on our promises. And so that's what I had to say to Turning Point this morning.
- [19:44]
Ben Ferguson
Take a listen as we play this right now.
- [19:47]
Unknown
God bless Turning Point. We are looking at America. We are gathered here at truly a momentous time. If you were young and passionate and it was 1776, you would have been part of transforming and creating the United States of America. If you were young and passionate and the year was 1980 and the Reagan Revolution was happening, you would have been part of transforming the United States of America. And today, in 2024, you are young and passionate, and every one of you is integral to transforming the United States of America. The Washington swamp is terrified of you. Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris are terrified of you. Joe Biden, well, no, he's actually not terrified. He doesn't know where he is, but he is wondering what time the People's Court is on tv. If you look at what happened in November, the results of the election were clear and unequivocal. Seven battle crown states across America. We won all seven. And I've got to say, Donald J. Trump is truly an extraordinary leader. Has there ever been anyone in American history who, after being shot in the head, stands up and responds, fight, fight. Fight. The American people have given us the White House. They've given us the House, they've given us Senate. Now it's time for us to deliver. We have work to do to deliver on our promises. So a year from now, two years from now, four years from now, the American people can say they did exactly what they said they would do. Number one, starting on January 20th, we will secure the border. Catch and Release ends on January 20th. If you are an illegal alien, if you're a murderer, if you're a rapist, if you're a child molester, if you're a Venezuelan gang member, pack your bags. Pack, because you're getting the hell out. And I'm here to tell you that's not going to take a year. It's not going to take six months. We are going to see the numbers of illegal immigration plummet, and they are going to plummet in January and February of this year. Number two, we are going to unleash American energy. America is the world's energy superpower, the number one producer of oil in the world, the number one producer of natural gas in the world. And America will be energy dominant. If you're fed up with high prices, high prices at the gas pump, high prices at the grocery store, high prices when you pay your bills, energy feeds into every one of them. The American people in this election said enough is enough is enough. And we are going to lower energy costs and make life more affordable for everyone. Number three, we are going to unleash small business, the regulators descending from Washington. We are going to repeal the rules they're using to kill small businesses. And I'll tell you what, we are also going to unleash crypto. I'm proud to stand with crypto. I'm proud to stand with bitcoin and I am the only member of the United States Senate who is in fact a bitcoin miner. I've got three miners hashing in West Texas right now and it is beautiful. And let me say to all of crypto and all of bitcoin, come to Texas. Texas is the oasis for bitcoin. Number four, we will restore integrity to the Department of Justice and the FBI. If you are a wild eyed partisan who has abused your power and targeted your political enemies at DOJ or the FBI will pack your bags because your job is done. And that means, number five, we will enforce the law, especially against universities across this country. The anti Semitic protests we've seen at universities will end next year. If you violently protest, if you threaten your fellow students, you will be arrested, you will be expelled, and if you're a foreigner, you will be deported. And we're going to see the Department of Justice and the FBI follow the money, go after the money, cut off the money. We're going to see universities that tolerate anti Semitism having their federal funds cut off. And when your fellow students look around and say, hey, why didn't this happen before? Why did everyone look the other way at the violence and the threats and the hatred and the bigotry? You're going to be in a position to tell them and we will end the wars with victory. The war in Ukraine will end this next year and Vladimir Putin will lose. And the war in Israel will come to an end. And Hamas will lose. Hezbollah will lose. Iran will lose. Every one of you, stand up and speak. And I want to encourage you, inform your friends when I ask you, pull out your cell phone, pull out your cell phone and send the word, text the word verdict to the number 24005. That number again, 24005. Text the word verdict. You will get in back a link to subscribe to my podcast that is designed to help inform you to be you are the ones who won this election. You are the ones who are persuading your colleagues. You are the ones who are informed and educated and engaged and just as if we were in 1980, just as if we were in 1776, I stand here today amazed and inspired to be in the company of patriots who love America, who together we are making America great again. God bless you and God Bless the United States of America.
- [28:06]
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.
- [28:17]
Unknown
Head over to NFLShop.com for the largest collection of officially licensed gear from all your favorite brands. NFL Shop is your ultimate gifting destination for jerseys, T shirts, headwear and more. Take your game day style to the next level with the best selection of NFL Gear anywhere. Show off your team pride this holiday season with styles fit for the whole family. To shop now, go to NFLShop.com the.
- [28:46]
Christmas and Hanukkah season is a time of hope and peace for many of us, but for those in Israel facing the ongoing war, it's a time of fear and uncertainty. The hardships are felt by everyone with many people struggling to afford food and basic necessities during this holiday season. Many living through the war in the Holy Land are grieving the loss of loved ones while also enduring isolation and and hunger. We must not let them feel forgotten by the rest of the world. That's why I'm partnering with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Your special holiday gift to the Fellowship helps provide a Hanukkah food box filled with basic necessities and essentials to bring nourishment, warmth and comfort to someone in need. Give the gift of hope in answered prayers this holiday season. Go to supportifcj.org to donate now. That's supportifcj.org or call to give at 888488 IFCJ. That's 888-488-4325.
- [29:46]
Ted Cruz
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- [30:17]
Ben Ferguson
To get back to the big story number three of the week you may have missed. So Joe Biden's administration has got some cover ups going on that the Wall Street Journal center is reporting on. Behind the closed doors. We found out that the lab week cover up was a legit cover up. And now since he's lost, it's like, oh, we can report on this now.
- [30:39]
Ted Cruz
Well, this was a story that came out the Wall Street Journal, December 26, and it really is a bombshell story. And it describes how the federal government essentially the deep state under Joe Biden, but this is also true under Trump. They didn't the Journal article doesn't talk about Trump, but I'm very interested to what was happening under the Trump administration as well. But how the deep state covered up the evidence and covered up the scientists that were arguing that the COVID virus escaped from the Wuhan lab in China. And it focuses on in particular, it starts with Jason Bannon. So here I'm just going to read you the beginning of the article because it lays it out. A car and driver had been ready to whisk Jason Bannon from FBI headquarters early one morning in August 2021 to brief the White House on a novel virus that was killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, and it stopped the world in its tracks. Bannon had been told by his superiors to be on hand in case the Federal Bureau of Investigation was asked to join a top intelligence community briefing for the president. But the White House summons never came. Bannon, a Ph.D. in microbiology, had joined the bureau after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, when the agency bulked up its expertise to deal with the threat of germ weapons, toxins and other weapons of mass destruction. But for more than a year, he had spent most of his waking hours on the COVID 19 virus that had seeped out of China in 2019. Frustrated by China's stonewalling, President Biden had ordered an urgent assessment by the US Intelligence agencies and national laboratories on whether the virus had leapt from an animal to a human or had escaped from a Chinese lab that had been doing extensive work on coronaviruses. The dominant view within the intelligence community was clear when Avril Haines, the director of national Intelligence, and a couple of her senior analysts briefed Biden's and his top aides on August 24. The National Intelligence Council, a body of senior intelligence officers who reported to Haines and that organized the intelligence review, had concluded with, quote, low confidence that COVID 19, had emerged when the virus leapt from an animal to a human. So did four intelligence agencies at the time. The fba, FBI was the only agency that had concluded that a lab leak was likely, a judgment that it had rendered with, quote, moderate confidence. But neither Bannon nor any other FBI officials were at the briefing to make the case firsthand to the president, quote, being the only agency that assessed a laboratory origin was more likely, and the agency that expressed the highest level confidence in its analysis of the source of the pandemic. We anticipated the FBI would be asked to attend the briefing, Bannon recalled in his first on the record interview on the subject. I find it surprising that the White House didn't ask. In this article in the Wall Street Journal, it goes on and on discussing Bannon, this FBI scientist, but also scientists throughout the federal government who had laid out evidence early on that Covid came from a Chinese lab and that evidence was systematically shut down. It was systematically de emphasized, and it appears that it was systematically blocked from going to the White House under Joe Biden. And as I said, I'm very interested. The Wall Street Journal doesn't report this, but my suspicion is they were doing the exact same thing when Donald Trump was president.
- [34:03]
Ben Ferguson
So here's my question, and this is a political one. There are people that are really frustrated with so much that that happened around Covid, and the answers we didn't get and Foushee lying to Congress. The list goes on and on. And there's people that are frustrated saying, all right, now that Republicans are in charge, what are they going to do about it? Are they going to investigate? Are they going to hold people accountable if they were lying to us, Whether it's on the origins was the Gang of Function research, There's a long list. Should Republicans go down that rabbit hole and do that, or is that going to be looked at by many Americans like, move on already we've done. What are you doing already? There's a. There's a real political price that you could pay from being out of touch with what the American people want. I know there's people that are angry and are frustrated, but what should the strategy become January 20th?
- [34:54]
Ted Cruz
I think the strategy should be serious transparency, and it should be accountability. It should be number one.
- [35:01]
Ben Ferguson
So you are in favor of accountability.
- [35:03]
Ted Cruz
For people that lie to Congress?
- [35:05]
Ben Ferguson
Okay.
- [35:08]
Ted Cruz
Let me start with transparency. And this is a conversation I have had the last couple of weeks with Pam Bondi, who's been nominated to be the Attorney General and with Kash Patel who's been nominated to be the Director of the FBI and also with the nominee for the Deputy Attorney General and with other senior law enforcement nominees. I've said very simply, make the information public, make it public on January 6. The confidential informants that were there don't give the names, don't out obviously people who were undercover. But. But make the information public. It is a public interest. And on COVID 19 put the evidence out there and make it public. I believe China was directly culpable. And by the way, I will say this is a prediction that verdict laid out almost before anybody else. We had two different podcasts, I believe in March and April of 2021, right at the very beginning of COVID where we laid out the evidence that the COVID virus came from a Chinese lab. And that evidence we're going to do for New Year's we're going to do an episode going through all of the predictions that verdict has laid out that have come true. Because look, we have not been shy on taking a risk, on making a prediction, making a counterintuitive. Look, when I said Covid came from a Chinese virus, at the time that was almost universally labeled misinformation.
- [36:38]
Ben Ferguson
Oh, it was on social media, you couldn't post that, they'd shut you down.
- [36:42]
Ted Cruz
It remains remarkable to this day. I don't know why they didn't block verdict when we said it because others were getting blocked. Somehow we got through. And it is. And by the way, I will say it wasn't just this scientist at the FBI. Let me go back to the Wall Street Journal article. Here's a couple more paragraphs. Quote. Three scientists at the national center for Medical Intelligence, part of the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency, conducted a scientific study that concluded that COVID 19 was manipulated in a laboratory in a risky research effort. But that analysis was at odds with the assessment of their parent agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and wasn't incorporated in the report presented to Biden. The DIA Inspector General's office opened an inquiry in the spring into whether the scientists assessments was mishandled or suppressed. People familiar with the matter said and look, I think this is important, number one, because we need truth and accountability. I think the Chinese government bears enormous responsibility for the people who died, for the millions who died. 1.2 million Americans are counted as having been killed with the coronavirus. Seven million people worldwide. It was a massive consequence. And the economy shut down globally. Trillions of dollars was destroyed. Millions of lives trillions of dollars. And I believe the Chinese Communist government has direct culpability for that. And I think the Trump administration would be doing America and the world a service for making that evidence public. But I also think it's important. Listen, there's going to be another crisis. We don't want career bureaucrats within the government suppressing evidence that they don't like. We don't want career bureaucrats, the deep state, pushing their preferred narrative. You got to ask why they were leaning in so hard to protect China. Why was that the dominant narrative? And why was everything else shut down? Because the next crisis we face. Let's go back to the Wall Street Journal article. Because we also saw the scientific community lean in like crazy. Here's another two paragraphs talking about two theories. One that it came from an animal naturally and the other that it came from a lab leak. Quote, those two theories have also divided the scientific community. In February 2020, more than two dozen scientists published a statement in the medical journal Lancet calling the lab leak hypothesis a conspiracy theory that would jeopardize global cooperation in the struggle against the virus. One of the authors was Peter Daszak of EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit that has worked extensively on coronavirus research with the Wuhan Institute. That statement was followed a month later by a March 2020 paper on the proximal origins of COVID 19, in which Kristen Anderson of the Scripps Research Institute and four other scientists argued that the virus wasn't purposely manipulated in the laboratory and almost certainly had natural origins. Now, my view right now, based on the evidence that is public, I think it is overwhelmingly likely that the COVID virus escaped from a Chinese government lab. And I think it is likely. I wouldn't use the word overwhelmingly, but I think it is greater than 50% that the COVID virus was manipulated by those Chinese scientists through gain of function research to make it either more deadly, more transmissible, or more in particular, able to impact humans. That has not been as conclusively proven as has been has been proven, in my judgment, that it escaped from a government lab. It's possible it was a natural virus and they screwed up and it escaped. It is indisputable that China covered it up and did everything they could to suppress it after the fact. But I think it is more likely than not that not only did it escape from a Chinese government lab, but they created it through gain of function research. We need to know that. And I gotta say, the paragraph I read, Peter Daszak got a whole lot of money at the Ecohealth alliance for doing research on coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute. There's every reason to expect he was deeply invested in not having anyone know that. And by the way, so was Anthony Fauci and Anthony Fauci's culpability, Dasak's culpability. I hope we have congressional hearings on this. I hope we get to the bottom of what actually happened because I think there is virtue to transparency and clarity, both for accountability and responsibility for the Chinese Communist government, but also to prevent manipulating the science for the next crisis.
- [41:36]
Ben Ferguson
So final question on this, and that's going to come back to Foushee. What does accountability look like for a guy like that?
- [41:43]
Ted Cruz
Look, I don't know. I think it is likely that Foushee lied to Congress under oath. Lying to Congress under oath is a felony. I've called repeatedly. I've asked Merrick Garland if he's open an investigation, if he's willing to prosecute Foushee. Merrick Garland had no interest in prosecuting Foushee. As I'm sitting here right now, I don't remember the dates. I think it is likely the statute of limitations has expired on prosecuting him. So it may be. I'm not remembering the dates as you and I are doing this right now. But I think there's a good chance that Trump cannot prosecute Foushee for lying to Congress. But I think laying out that accountability is important. And I think the reason the Biden DOJ didn't want to do so is because this has been the most politicized Department of Justice in history. Foushee went before Congress and insisted that that the US Government had not paid for, had not funded gain of function research. And actually the NIH came back and had to correct that after the fact and make clear that what he said was, was false.
- [42:44]
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.
- [43:03]
Ryan Seacrest
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Colleen Witt
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Ted Cruz
A latte brew two shots of espresso.
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Ryan Seacrest
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Colleen Witt
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Ryan Seacrest
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Colleen Witt
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Ryan Seacrest
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Colleen Witt
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- [44:04]
Ted Cruz
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