← Verdict with Ted Cruz
Verdict with Ted Cruz
Texas Designates Muslim Brotherhood as a Terrorist Organization, plus Crooked Gambling Crisis in Pro Sports
00:34:49
Loading summary
Transcript100 lines
- [00:00]
iHeart Podcast Announcer
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:05]
Senator Ted Cruz
Then the space hamster flew his hot air balloon all the way to the.
- [00:10]
iHeart Podcast Announcer
Bottom of the ocean.
- [00:12]
Meco Mini Plus Advertiser
Where did that story come from? Book Dream? Nope. It came from a conversation. Meet Meco Mini plus the AI companion that co creates personalized story adventures with your child in real time. What color was the hamster's cape and what did he pack for lunch? Unlock your child's imagination. Discover Mikomini PL us and the Magic of AI Exclusively at Costco.
- [00:36]
Anabe Sofa Advertiser
Tired of spills and stains on your sofa? Wash away your worries with Anabe. Annabe is the only machine washable sofa inside and out where designer quality meets budget friendly prices. That's right, sofas start at just $699. Enjoy a no risk experience with pet friendly stain resistant and changeable slipcovers made with performance fabric. Experience cloud like comfort with high resilience foam that's hypoallergenic, never needs fluffing. The sturdy steel frame ensures longevity and the modular pieces can be rearranged anytime. Shop washablesofas.com for early Black Friday savings up to 60% off site wide backed by a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not absolutely in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping or restocking fees. Every penny back Upgrade now@washablesofas.com Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may.
- [01:34]
iHeart Podcast Announcer
Apply this holiday season. Give the gift Everyone will gather around a Vizio Smart TV now available at Walmart. From a super sized 100 inch TV to QLED TVs of all sizes, Vizio delivers breathtaking color and crystal clear picture quality that takes entertainment to the next level. Plus with Watch Free plus built in they can enjoy free live and on demand TV right out of the box. Have a music lover on your list. They can stream their favorite music on the iHeartRadio app. Ready to go on every Vizio TV. The perfect gift is waiting. Head to wall Walmart.com and discover Vizio TVs today.
- [02:06]
Senator Ted Cruz
Spinquest Social Casino It's Thanksgiving time. The turkey's hot and the family's loud. Instead of football, play a different game on your phone. Live dealer blackjack, crafts and slots. Play anytime, anywhere. Spinquest.com this Thanksgiving gobble up a thirty dollar coin pack for just ten dollars. Come play today. Spin Quest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited.
- [02:34]
Rodney Williams
Visit spinquest.com details I'm Rodney Williams. And I'm Travis Holloway. Welcome to the Wealth Break Podcast, a real conversation about finance. Let's be honest, building wealth doesn't look the same for everyone.
- [02:48]
iHeart Podcast Announcer
I feel like sometimes being broke is a cycle and that we might have.
- [02:52]
Rodney Williams
To revisit that and we're not stopping at success stories.
- [02:55]
Anabe Sofa Advertiser
What happens when it doesn't go right? How do you cope with it?
- [02:59]
Rodney Williams
Because wealth isn't just about money. It's about creating a life where you thrive and help others do the same. Listen to the Wealth Break podcast on the iHeartRadio app.
- [03:11]
Ben Ferguson
Welcome. It is Verdict with center Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. It's nice to have you with us and if you're watching us on YouTube also, really nice to have you with us on YouTube and on Facebook as we're doing a lot of these shows now on video as well. Center, we've got a lot to talk about. This is like on my bingo card today, I did not have. We're going to talk about the Muslim Brotherhood gambling, but that is the show tonight. It's going to be really fun.
- [03:34]
Senator Ted Cruz
Yeah, we're talking about the Muslim Brotherhood. Texas is leading the way. And this week, the state of Texas, the governor designated the Muslim Brotherhood designated care as terrorist organizations. That's something I've been fighting for a decade to get the federal government to do. It's something I believe President Trump will do. But Texas leading the way, I think is a very important step moving forward. I want to commend the governor in the state of Texas. We're going to break that down, tell you why that matters. We're also going to talk about an investigation that I've launched on the Senate Commerce Committee into gambling and professional sports. And we've seen the scandal at the NBA of NBA players and coaches engaged in and being indicted for and prosecuted for illicit gambling. And also the scandal in Major League Baseball and the challenge that the explosion of gambling has had with incentivizing players to engage in cheating. The Senate Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over sports. We're investigating it. We're gonna explain to you all about that.
- [04:32]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah, it's gonna be really interesting to see how that works out. And we'll have those details for you in a second. All right. I gotta tell you about a really amazing opportunity, and it's something that you might want to be talking about with your family over the holidays. And it's the ability to learn for free at Hillsdale College right now at Hillsdale Edu Verdict, you can enroll in more than 40 free online courses and there is no cost. It's easy to get started and you can learn at your own pace. Now, these are incredible classes And I'll say it again, it is free. If you go to Hillsdale Edu Verdict to enroll, you're going to get more than 40 different classes you can take, including a course on C.S. lewis, the stories of the book of Genesis, the rise and fall of the Roman Republic. And you can go even deeper on the American foundation and the Constitution. All of this for free. I'm doing Constitution 101 again because look, I've taken constitutional law, I've taken class on the Constitution. It's amazing how much you can still learn. To me, it's almost like the Bible. You can read it over and over again and you learn something new every single time. And that is the reason why we want you to take advantage of this amazing opportunity from Hillsdale College, our friends to take these types of classes. They also have classes on America, the starting of this country, socialism and communism 101. So you understand it. It is truly amazing. So check out the classes right now and enroll for free. The only way to do it, Hillsdale Edu Verdict to enroll, no cost. And it's easy to get started and it's self paced learning. If you want to take these classes and go all day, you can do that or if it's every week or so, if you, it doesn't matter. You learn at your own pace and it's amazing. So thank you to the people at Hillsdale Hillsdale Edu Verdict. All right, Senator, so let's get into the topic. Number one, this is something that you've been talking about for a while.
- [06:27]
Senator Ted Cruz
Yep.
- [06:27]
Ben Ferguson
Designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization and Texas is now taking a big step. I think this is going to be a great example for the rest of the country. And talk about how big of a victory this is and Texas leading the way.
- [06:40]
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, it's a big victory. Let me tell you about what Texas did and I'm going to take it more broadly into the national fight over designating the Muslim Brotherhood. So Texas this week declared CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist groups preventing land purchases. Let me read from FOX News. Texas Governor Greg Abbott designated the Council on American Islamic Relations CARE and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign, terrorist and transnational criminal organizations Tuesday, preventing both groups from obtaining land in the Lone Star State. Abbott said in a statement that he made the move as quote, the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have long made their goals clear to forcibly impose sharia law and establish Islam's mastership of the world. The actions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR to support terrorism across the globe and Subvert our laws through violence, intimidation and harassment are unacceptable. Today I designated the Muslim Brotherhood and CARE as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations. These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas. A proclamation signed by Abbott claims that cair, quote, is an Islamist organization that, according to the FBI, was founded as a front group for Hamas and its support network in the United States. It added that, quote, cair and its members have repeatedly employed, affiliated with and supported individuals promoting terrorism related activities, including Ghassan Elashi, a founding member of the Texas Branch for CARE and treasurer of the Holy Land foundation for Relief and Development charity, quote, who was sentenced to a total of 65 years in prison for financing terrorism in 2009. The proclamation also states that Hamas was, quote, formed in 1987 as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and that activities of the Muslim Brotherhood branches have similarly been eliminated or prohibited by the governments of Austria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In light of the Muslim Brotherhood encouraging terrorism or attempting to destabilize these countries. Look, this is real leadership from the state of Texas. It is what the federal government should be doing. The Muslim Brotherhood, I believe, is unquestionably a terrorist organization and we have yet to designate them. As Governor Abbott noted, many other countries on earth have, and I believe the United States during the Trump administration. We're going to do this. I've introduced legislation literally for 10 years to make this happen at a federal level.
- [09:14]
Ben Ferguson
So what has been the holdup there? For people that are new to this subject we talked about before, maybe they missed an episode. How the hell is it so hard to get the Muslim Brotherhood to be declared a terrorist organization through the US Government? What is the holdup yet? You mentioned it. This is like a decades long fight now.
- [09:31]
Senator Ted Cruz
So for five consecutive congresses, I've introduced legislation designate the Muslim Brotherhood. The holdup. We got very close during the first Trump administration. I thought we were going to get it done. During the first Trump administration, the resistance was from the deep state at the State Department, the career bureaucrats there was, and I'll tell you the old versions of the legislation. The way I wrote it, it was top down. What does that mean? It directed the State Department to designate the global Muslim Brotherhood, which is the big umbrella organization, as a terrorist organization. Here's the argument the career employees at State made. They said, look, there are lots of different affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood. We cannot definitively prove that every one of the affiliates meets the statutory Criteria for being a terrorist organization. That's how they stopped it from happening in Trump 1. So in Trump 2, I rewrote the legislation, and instead of being bottom down or top down, I rewrote it to be bottom up. And so what the legislation currently says is, it says that the State Department should designate every one of the Muslim Brotherhood affiliates for which the evidence is clear and unequivocal as terrorist organizations. For example, Hamas.
- [10:41]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
- [10:41]
Senator Ted Cruz
Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine. It is indisputable that Hamas is a terrorist organization. They carried out October 7th, murdered 1200 Israelis, raped and murdered women and little girls. Hamas is unquestionably a terrorist organization. That's true of multiple Muslim Brotherhood affiliates. What my new legislation said is designate those affiliates, and then it directs the State Department to designate the global Muslim Brotherhood because it gives money to those affiliates and so designate the. The umbrella organization for material support of. For giving money to unquestionable terrorist organizations. Now, part of the reason I think we're going to get this done is that chain of reasoning. There's not a step in that reasoning that is assailable. The deep state can't fight that. Yeah, but at the end of the day, let me tell you, this is not going to be a fight. I think that is won legislatively. So I've introduced the legislation. I tried very, very hard in this Congress to get a Democrat to support me. I will tell you, I talked to numerous Democrats. They said no. They said no. Look, the Democrat Party is very afraid, unfortunately, of disturbing the pro Hamas wing of their party in the House. The companion legislation to my legislation has four Democrats on board. So we do have some Democrat support. I was able to get one Democrat. So John Fetterman is supporting me. So the legislation is Cruz Fetterman. It is bipartisan, by the way.
- [12:08]
Ben Ferguson
Can we just pause there and just talk about how cool that is? The more that we have interacted that you've interacted with John, the more respect I really do have for him as a Democrat. The way he stood up to his party on the shutdown. Look, there are some places where you don't win races. I never thought I would say I am thankful for John Fetterman and his leadership in the Senate when he was first elected. I got to tell you, he may be the biggest surprise in the last decade for me of a true Democrat statesman that that is. That is willing to come the table on sane issues like the government shutdown or like this. And I think when this happens, we as conservatives should take that moment and Say job well done to Senator Fetterman. I'm really impressed because there's a lot of issues. He says politics are side. I don't care the heat I'm going to get from my party for this. I'm going to do the right thing. We used to have a lot more of that in politics.
- [13:02]
Senator Ted Cruz
Yeah, it used to be much more commonplace. When I showed up in the Senate 13 years ago, there was such a thing as moderate Democrats. They largely don't exist. Actually, someone before that was Kyrsten Sinema. Kyrsten Sinema was elected from Arizona. When she came in, there was not a whole lot of reason to believe she would be a moderate. And I will say Kirsten, I really like Kirsten. She stood up to her party. She demonstrated real courage. And you know what happened? The Democrats chased her out of the party. Both Sinema and Joe Manchin, who were the only two Democrats who said no to eliminating the filibuster. The Democrats chased both of them out of the party. They said, we don't want any dissent. You must obey the dictates of the radical left. Well, John Fetterman got elected. And listen, you and I both did not support him when he was running for the Senate. To begin with. He was a Democrat. And his prior record as Lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania gave little reason to think that he would be anything other than a left wing Democrat. That's certainly what I anticipated. He has astonished me. I like John personally. He obviously, during the campaign, suffered a stroke. He had serious medical issues. It was very difficult. His mind could not process the spoken word. So when he was newly elected, you would talk to him, but he would carry around an iPad that translated the words that are being said into text and he would have to read the iPad because it was just one of the consequences of the stroke that when you talk to him, his brain was operating, but the input of the oral spoken word did not make it through. I will say his health has improved significantly. He's now able to have a conversation and engage. So the aftermath of the stroke, thankfully, has gotten better. But Fetterman has shown real courage in standing up to his party on the shutdown. He stood up to Schumer and said, this shutdown is stupid. We need to end the shutdown. And on Israel, the level of courage he has shown by saying the pro Hamas wing of our party is wrong. It is terrible. And I, John Fetterman, are proud to stand with Israel. It's been heroic. And I gotta say, he's been demonized by his own party. The Democrats, they treat him terribly. The Republicans in the Senate treat him much better than the Democrats do.
- [15:18]
Ben Ferguson
Well, and not only demonize him, this goes back to civility. He had a fall this past week and Democrats were cheering his fall before we even knew, like his health. Now he put up a picture of himself. I was glad to see he's gonna be okay. But like, it just tells you about how much if you don't get in line with the Democratic Party. It doesn't matter if your name's Fetterman or Schumer at this point or Nancy Pelosi, like it is, off with your heads. In the Democratic Party as a leadership perspective from them, they are done with you if you are not going to the extreme left on every issue.
- [15:51]
Senator Ted Cruz
So Ben, it's worse than that. When Fetterman newly arrived in the Senate, the Democrats all assumed he would just be a left wing reliable vote. And so you had all the Democrats putting out statement, he's fine, his health is not a problem. And as I said, the stroke had very real and limiting effects on him. I mean it was, it was significant. But every Democrat defended him. And then as his health started to get better, yep, he was willing to buck the Democrats. And if you disagree with the Democrat Party line on even one issue, but especially on an issue like the current Democrat party's embrace of Hamas and their anti Israel animus, they turned on him viciously. And I gotta tell you, there have been dozens of articles written with quote, quotes from Democrat senators, Democrat staffers just, just doing everything they could to shiv him, to say, to actually attack his mental capability and say, oh, he's not able to do the job. The irony is they attacked him once he had improved significantly, was recovering. But yet in their view, the, the unforgivable sin was daring to deviate from what every other Democrat was saying. And I view Fetterman as the exception that proves the rule. That being said, this legislation to designate the Muslim Brotherhood at the national level, it's cruise Fetterman to pass, we would need 60 senators. That would mean we would need at least seven Democrats. I have no indication that seven Democrats are likely to support this. I'm going to try. I'm going to keep pressing it. We'll see, we'll put it for a vote. I would love to have that bipartisan support, but as of now, I have not been able to get any other Democrats.
- [17:33]
Ben Ferguson
I mean, when you ran for Senate, you know, several years ago, did you ever think you, you would govern in a body work with a group of people where you can't even get agreement on a designating a terrorist organization. A terrorist organization.
- [17:48]
Senator Ted Cruz
Oh, look, partisan politics has always been part of Washington. That being said, it's gotten much, much worse. And actually, when President Trump. When President Trump got elected in 2016, it broke the heads of the Democrats. Their minds are melted. They just hate him. And so there's much less middle ground. But anyway, my strategy on the Muslim Brotherhood legislation is not necessarily to pass it through Congress, although I'd love to. I'm going to continue trying to pass it through Congress. But it is instead to build the public case for this so that the Trump administration does so unilaterally. They have the authority to do so. There's no dispute, as I said in Trump one, we almost got it done. And I believe that President Trump will do so. I think he'll do so probably in the next year. I was in the White House just a couple of weeks ago. I talked with the president directly about designating the Muslim Brotherhood. I have met with Seb Gorka, who is the senior official in the National Security Council who's handling this issue. I've talked with Seb about it. I believe the Trump administration will do it this time. I think the fact that we redesigned it to be bottom up is going to make it much harder for the deep state to oppose it. And I want to commend Greg Abbott in the state of Texas, because Texas is designating the Muslim Brotherhood and care as well, really helps for building the momentum. The whole purpose of the legislative push is to build the momentum to pride the air cover for the Trump administration to do so. And I think that's going to happen. Shh. You won't believe what my new friend.
- [19:23]
Meco Mini Plus Advertiser
Just told me about dinosaurs. Is your child having conversations you never imagined? Are they learning without realizing it? It's not a tablet. It's not a toy. It's Meco Mini plus, the AI powered companion that turns curiosity into endless learning. Hear the future of playtime. Meet the extraordinary Meco Mini Plus Only at Costco.
- [19:48]
Ben Ferguson
I want you to just pause what you're doing for the next 60 seconds and I want you to imagine Lucy, a 7 year old. Her stomach often aches with hunger. Her small hands, instead of holding crayons, know only the struggle of survival on dusty streets. School is a distant dream. Medical care, a forgotten hope. Lucy's potential is overshadowed. Her future is dim. But what if someone stepped in? What if there was a way to ignite hope for children just like Lucy? Well, there is. And that is with Compassion International Partners and the local churches that provide children holistic support. More than just food, they receive critical medical care, life changing education, vital skills training and spiritual development all in Jesus's name. And you can empower a child just like Lucy to break free from poverty. I want you to do what I've done and sponsor a child today. You can visit compassion.com that's compassion.com Life.
- [20:53]
Anabe Sofa Advertiser
Gets messy spills, stains and kid chaos. But with anibe, cleaning up is easy. Our sofas are fully machine washable inside and out so you never have to stress about messes again. Made with liquid and stain resistant fabrics, that means fewer stains and more peace of mind. Designed for real life, our sofas feature changeable fabric covers allowing you to refresh your style anytime. Need flexibility? Our modular design lets you rearrange your sofa effortlessly. Perfect for cozy apartments or spacious homes. Plus they're earth friendly and built to last. That's why over 200,000 happy customers have made the switch. Get early access to Black Friday pricing right now. Sofas started just $699. Visit washablesofas.com now and bring home a sofa made for life. That's washablesofas.com offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply this holiday season.
- [21:53]
iHeart Podcast Announcer
Give the gift of incredible sound with Vizio's full Soundbar lineup available at Walmart. Transform any living room into a home theater with rich, immersive audio that brings every movie, show and song to life. Whether you're gifting a loved one or upgrading your own setup, Vizio Soundbars deliver powerful craft crystal clear sound that turns ordinary watching into extraordinary experiences. Stream your favorite holiday Playlist with the iHeartRadio app and discover how good your music can truly sound. Head to Walmart.com and find your perfect Vizio soundbar.
- [22:22]
Senator Ted Cruz
Today I'm here with spinquest where you can play and win from the comfort of your own home with hundreds of slot games and all of the table games you love with real cash prizes. Right now $30 coin packs are on sale for $10.
- [22:38]
Rodney Williams
For new users, it's all@spinquest.com that's s.
- [22:42]
Senator Ted Cruz
P I n q u s t.com Spin Quest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details.
- [22:53]
Ben Ferguson
All right, I also want to bring up care and this is another aspect of of this, this, you know, legislation in Texas making it clear it's not just the Muslim Brotherhood, it's also cair. This one's a little bit more of A complicated organization. Break that down. Why? They're also getting on the list.
- [23:10]
Senator Ted Cruz
Yeah, it's not actually that complicated. I mean, CARE is a domestic organization. They had previously been implicated in supporting Hamas supporting other terrorist organization. Let me read a story from the New York Post. It's entitled Muslim Group Care cutting $1,000 checks for anti Israel agitators who have been disciplined by colleges. And here's what the New York Post reported. Anti Israel agitators who spread disruption at U.S. college colleges and were punished by authorities were awarded checks for $1,000 by a Muslim nonprofit, the Post has learned. The money was given to students who faced penalties for leading pro Palestinian protests before and after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, according to a bombshell report by the network Contagion Research Institute and the Intelligent Advocacy Network. The cash was awarded from a Quote Champions of Justice Fund set up by a California chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations CARE as an institutional endorsement, the report claims. In California, the largest arm of the CARE web of nonprofits affiliates in San Francisco and Los Angeles raised more than $100,000 in donations for the campus radicals, while the Main Group solicited $64,000 in donations. Record show the money was then offered as interest free loans in grants of $1,000 to students who lost scholarships, housing or other support because of their advocacy, according to CARE's website. This is. You have care literally you want to know why you had anti Semitic protest on college campuses. I've been saying from the beginning, follow the money. There's clear money behind it.
- [24:51]
Ben Ferguson
Follow the money, follow the money.
- [24:53]
Senator Ted Cruz
The tents all matched. And it's because this is being funded and this is being funded by Islamists, this is being funded by Communists, this is being funded by foreign nations. This is being funded by left wing billionaire donors who frankly want to undermine America. And so Texas designating CARE as well, that's a big step forward.
- [25:13]
Ben Ferguson
Also, I want you to just pause what you're doing for the next 60 seconds and I want you to imagine Lucy, a 7 year old. Her stomach often aches with hunger. Her small hands instead of holding crayons know only the struggle of survival on dusty streets. School is a distant dream. Medical care a forgotten hope. Lucy's potential is overshadowed. Her future is dim. But what if someone stepped in? What if there was a way to ignite hope for children just like Lucy? Well, there is. And that is with Compassion International Partners and the local churches that provide children holistic, holistic support. More than just food, they receive critical medical care Life changing education, vital skills training and spiritual development all in Jesus's name. And you can empower a child just like Lucy to break free from poverty. I want you to do what I've done and sponsor a child. Today. You can visit compassion.com that's compassion.com I want to move to another issue and that is sports gambling. This is a issue. I just genuinely, this is like my tmz, my soap opera. I, I'm loving watching the, the, the corruption slowly unfold before our very eyes. I say that because I'm a sports fan. You are as well. We've gone to games together, we've gone to playoff games and you've, I've noticed and I've got friends that are, that literally play pro sports and they will watch games and they'll text them like that's not normal. That was weird. The end of that game was strange. Look at the cut, look at the point spread. What the game, what the gambling line was here. Look at the over under. I mean I have friends in these sports and they're like, they even are like, this is a red flag. Like this doesn't make sense. What just happened the last two minutes of the game or the last four minutes of that game and now we're finding out we weren't crazy. There's a lot of fixing that's going on now. It may not be fixing the outcome of the winner and the loser. And that's what people need to understand the caveat here. A lot of times this is like total number of points that are going to be scored.
- [27:25]
Senator Ted Cruz
Yep.
- [27:25]
Ben Ferguson
The margin between the two teams, how much will want to win by losing. It can even be as simple as a certain player not hitting what they were projected in points or three pointers or even free throws. And you see these, these anomalies or weird things that happen with an individual player or faking an injury so that they make sure they don't finish the game. This was happening in a widespread way among sports and there were people that were literally getting rich off it. It's called fixing. It may not be fixing the game as in the score. It's fixing aspects of the game that you can bet on.
- [28:03]
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, look, you and I are both big sports fans. Sports is an amazing thing. It brings people together. It gives you something to cheer for. It's powerful. It can unify.
- [28:11]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah, it's so fun.
- [28:12]
Senator Ted Cruz
But you know, look, unfortunately, as long as there's been sports, there's been some risk of corruption in sports. And I gotta say, the proliferation of betting on sports has increased that risk. And it's not just betting. It's one thing to bet that your team's gonna win or lose. Presumably if you're betting particularly that your team will win, the incentives are aligned that all the members of the team want to win. But you now have these prop bets where you can bet on all sorts of different aspects of the game. And that I think, significantly increases the risk of corruption because a prop bet, an individual player, can have really significant impact on the outcome of that bet. And so we've seen there's an ongoing criminal investigation involving the NBA involving coaches and players fixing games and Major League Baseball as well. And so I'm chairman of the Senate Committee on commerce, Science and Transportation. Part of the jurisdiction of the Commerce Committee is sports, both college sports and pro sports. And so I've launched an oversight investigation into the problem of corruption and the impact of prop bets in particular on sports. And so I want to read to you a portion of. I sent a letter to Major League Baseball. And let me just just read you a portion of it because the facts are really concerning. Here's what my letter said. Dear Mr. Manfred, game fixing allegations are not new to baseball. 105 years ago, a Chicago grand jury indicted eight Chicago White Sox players for allegedly rigging the 1919 World Series labeled the Chicago Black Sox in the press. The players were eventually acquitted by a Chicago jury, even though some had earlier confessed, and all eight were banned from baseball for life. Major League Baseball and American sports generally are facing a new integrity crisis. Last week, prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York unsealed an indictment against two pitchers for the Cleveland Guardians, accusing them of rigging their own pitches to make a profit. That indictment comes just a few weeks after prosecutors leveled similar allegations against coaches and players in the NBA. Ranking member Cantwell and I sent a letter to the NBA requesting documents and information about that matter. And we now seek information from Major League Baseball about how the league is addressing alleged game manipulation and threats to baseball's integrity. The recent indictment alleges Cleveland Guardians players Emmanuel Claes and Luis Ortiz purposely threw certain pitches for balls or strikes. Yep, Both players allegedly told friends of their plan and to place prop bets beforehand. Claes allegedly even made some bets himself. Perhaps most shockingly, this scheme lasted more than two years before Major League Baseball found out. On May 19, 2023 clays, pitching in relief against the New York Mets, allegedly informed friends he would throw a pitch faster than 94.95 miles per hour. He did and his accomplices won $27,000.
- [31:25]
Ben Ferguson
I mean, can you just hit pause there for a second? This letter, so people understand this is like making a mockery of the game, but it's also just fixing the game where you're like, hey, I'm going to perform differently so that my friends can get hooked up and make $27,000 there. It went on for years. And it's not like this was like one person. I actually believe this is probably a lot more widespread than we are being told. And part of that is I think that Major League Baseball and others are going to cover their AWS's. They want to make sure that we don't realize just how bad it actually was or is.
- [32:00]
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, and with individual players and prop bets, they have almost total control over the outcome of that bet.
- [32:05]
Ben Ferguson
Yep.
- [32:06]
Senator Ted Cruz
And so, look, the $27,000 is not the worst part. Let me give you a few more of the facts from the letter. Claes would go on to blow a save opportunity as The Guardians lost 10 to nine in extra innings in June 2023. Claes flung a pitch into the dirt in two separate games, well short of the strike zone. While Cleveland fans were shouting in frustration, Claes was apparently cashing in. In both games, he allegedly sent texts notifying his friends that he would throw balls. They placed prop bets on his pitches, winning a combined $96,000.
- [32:48]
Ben Ferguson
Unbelievable.
- [32:49]
Senator Ted Cruz
Across other games from 2023 to 2025, Claes and his accomplices are accused of winning at least $400,000 through fraudulent bets.
- [33:00]
Ben Ferguson
I mean, that's a lot of money, folks. And that's just one example that got busted. You got to wonder how many others are out there.
- [33:07]
Senator Ted Cruz
Right?
- [33:07]
Ben Ferguson
I mean, we've seen. What's interesting, I was reading a article the other day. It was talking about, there's been an uptick in wild pitches.
- [33:15]
Senator Ted Cruz
Yeah.
- [33:16]
Ben Ferguson
Because you can bet on that. And there's the. They're just saying there is. There are certain data that is significantly changed since prop betting got introduced nationwide. Basically, you know, where everybody can bet on these things and has grown. It's like that didn't happen for 50 years of baseball before. When we have data or 30 years in football of data or whatever it may be. And then all of a sudden they're like, wow, this is happening a lot more often. This is weird that they would get worse at these anomalies when technology and cameras and coaching has gotten so much better. You think that would actually reduce the number of these unique moments that happen in sports. And now we're finding out. Yeah, it may not be unique at all.
- [34:02]
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, and negative Prop bets are 100% within the control of an individual player. So if you think about it, if you, you or I were a major league pitcher, we may not be able to win a bet that my next pitch will be a strike because you might try to throw a strike and fail. I could not throw a major league strike. But you know what you and I could win a bet on that my next pitch will be a ball. Because as much like I suck at baseball, but yet I can throw the ball into the dirt. I'm quite confident I can pitch a ball. I could pitch a ball 100% of the time with no deviation. And some of the times, and in this instance, you know, someone who's good at cheating would not pound it into the dirt. They would just be a little bit outside the strike zone. So you couldn't tell. It looks really obvious when you don't even make it to home plate. But that problem, look, you were a Division 1 tennis player. I'm pretty sure they didn't have a problem.
- [34:59]
Ben Ferguson
I'm pretty sure I could double fault on. On command. I can hit a ball long on command, 100 of the time. On command, I could whiff at a ball if that was a prop bet and make money off of it. Yes, all of those things you can. A hundred percent.
- [35:13]
Senator Ted Cruz
By the way, I want our listeners to know if you also get in Ben's head and screw with him, you can make him double fault even when he doesn't want to. But that's a totally different. He's an infinitely better tennis player than I am, but I do have a little bit of ability to taunt him. And if he gets pissed enough that that can happen.
- [35:30]
Ben Ferguson
Either that or you're going to get hit with the ball. It's one of the two. One of the. One of the two is going to happen. One of the two. And that would be a great prop bet, by the way.
- [35:39]
Senator Ted Cruz
Okay, there is that. Although the sad thing is when Ben and I play tennis, we usually play together. So if he's hitting me with the ball, he's really doing it wrong. Because it's one thing to hit your opponent. If you're hitting your teammate, good God, you're doing it wrong.
- [35:51]
Ben Ferguson
It's only when you get lackadaisical can you become a target. It's just motivation. It's just a straight up motivation. There's final question on this. I've seen a lot of people in sports, journalists say, how do you fix this if it's not saying, no more prop bets, right? You have normal gambling on games. I don't know if you can even fix this. Is that far out of control? And is it the job of Major League sports to police their own or can they be trusted?
- [36:21]
Senator Ted Cruz
Look, I think there need to be some steps taken to fix this. I'm not sure exactly what those steps are, and so I'm starting with sending letters to the NBA and Major League Baseball because you've got scandals in both sports. And listen, as you know, I'm a die hard Rockets fan. I'm a die hard Astros fan. By the way, did you happen to see the Rockets last victory against Orlando?
- [36:43]
Ben Ferguson
No, I did not. Was it a beat down?
- [36:45]
Senator Ted Cruz
Oh, no, no. It was an overtime victory. It was spectacular. Look, the Rockets actually were trailing almost the entire regular season. And I DVR every Rockets game. And so I watched this. I actually watch.
- [36:56]
Ben Ferguson
By the way, you haven't mentioned my Ole Miss Rebels in a few weeks. And I just want everybody to know that's because we're winning and went, we're now, what is it? 10 and 1? I think that's right. Just want to throw that out there. Beat the Gators. Just go now back to your Rockets. But when, when my team loses one game this year, there's two shows in a row that it was brought up the other 10 weeks. Not a peep out of you. I just want to be clear about that record. Keep going.
- [37:18]
Senator Ted Cruz
Look, I got to say, as a Texan beating the Gators, I'm kind of like, that's, that's, that's interesting. One of my favorite images, when Florida played A and M, I tweeted out there was a giant barbecue truck in College Station that had, I think five, seven foot gators on a rotisserie rotating around, being cooked. So, yeah, so, okay, fine. You know, you guys beat the Gators. That's fine. Good.
- [37:43]
Ben Ferguson
Thank you. Thank you for that moral support there. I felt that. I felt that tonight.
- [37:48]
Senator Ted Cruz
I'm just saying the Rockets win against Orlando was really sweet because we were not playing great during the whole of the game. And then it was this huge comeback. And Katie, I, I'm going to say right now, I think the Rockets can win the whole damn thing. I mean, we've got.
- [38:02]
Ben Ferguson
Oh, that's an early season prediction right there.
- [38:05]
Senator Ted Cruz
Now look, most seasons I think the Rockets can win it all. But, but listen, last season we got.
- [38:10]
Ben Ferguson
It the way you just said it with me, with me, like there's there's hoping and then there's like the real possibility. So you think they're the real deal this year?
- [38:17]
Senator Ted Cruz
I really do. They've got a ton of young talent. They're really good. Our problem last season is we didn't have a closer. We didn't have someone who, in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, you could give the ball to and he could bring it home. And Katie, I mean, look, he's one of the greatest players in history. And in the game against Orlando, I mean, it was. You want to talk about cold, he hit two three pointers that were just devastating. And you had Chengun, who's a great center, who played a great game as well.
- [38:48]
Ben Ferguson
But did you bet on that overtime, by the way? I'm just curious because you're really into this right now.
- [38:54]
Senator Ted Cruz
I didn't. I just had great joy. And as I said, I dvr the games and I watch them typically late at night, at the end of the day. But, but anyway, my point is, it's one thing, and I will say I like to. I like to play poker, but. But I've never been into sports betting. So, so, so among vices that. That is not one that, that has impacted me, but I get, you know, I'll. I'll put five bucks in a March Madness pool. And I gotta say, my picks are almost always wrong. So I don't know that I've ever won a March Madness pool, but I'll. I'll throw away my five bucks.
- [39:24]
Ben Ferguson
You' is a charity bracket and we appreciate your. Your service to the charity community.
- [39:29]
Senator Ted Cruz
Okay. So I actually, I just pick a homer thing. I pick Texas teams, I take teams I like, and I'm just like, I'm going to go with. I think my Final Four year or two ago was, I think, three Texas teams in the Final Four.
- [39:41]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah, that didn't work out too well for you. I'm not going to lie.
- [39:44]
Senator Ted Cruz
Yeah. Excuse me. Did Ole Miss win? Win the tournament?
- [39:48]
Ben Ferguson
We. We do football very well, sir. We do football very well. We win Natties and golf, baseball and tennis. I'm just. Yeah, I know where I am. I know where we live. Basketball's not there yet. I'm okay with that. But I don't pick them to go to the Final Four. That I can promise you.
- [40:05]
Senator Ted Cruz
Yeah, so look, on the question of gambling, and by the way, you got pro sports. But I'm also concerned about college sports. And in many ways with such a proliferation, you know, you look at a small school with, with a game that's not in the headlines and an individual player there, you know, you may have it's one thing for, you know, am I that worried about massive superstars making millions or tens of millions of dollars of being corrupted? Well, yes, because we're seeing this in the NBA and Major League Baseball. But the incentive is less than some, you know, 19 year old kid playing at podunk school who has a chance to make ten grand fixing the game. And so I think that is a real challenge. I think the leagues can maybe take some steps about it. But it would not surprise me to see Congress act. And it's one of the reasons I'm just trying to start with saying, okay, tell me the facts of how many allegations you're getting of cheating. What are the facts?
- [41:02]
Ben Ferguson
Tell me what you know.
- [41:04]
Senator Ted Cruz
Tell me what you know. And then particularly the more serious the problem is, my hope is we may see Congress act in a bipartisan way to fix it.
- [41:13]
Ben Ferguson
It's gonna be very interesting. Don't forget, we do this show Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Hit that subscriber auto download button on those. In between days, grab my podcast, the 47 Morning Update. You'll get the biggest news coming out of the White House each day and the Ben Ferguson podcast as well. And I'll give you the other breaking news of the day. So grab those the center and I will see you back here in a couple of days.
- [41:34]
Senator Ted Cruz
Then the space hamster flew his hot air balloon all the way to the bottom of the ocean.
- [41:41]
Meco Mini Plus Advertiser
Where did that story come from? Book Dream? Nope. It came from a conversation. Meet Meco Mini plus, the AI companion that co creates personalized story adventures with your child in real time. What color was the hamster's cape and what did he pack for lunch? Unlock your child's imagination. Discover Miko Mini plus and the magic of AI Exclusively at Costco.
- [42:05]
Anabe Sofa Advertiser
How do I do it all during the holidays?
- [42:09]
Senator Ted Cruz
Shipt Same day delivery With Shipt, I can order groceries from Albertsons, decor from Michaels, even gifts for my furry friend from Petsmart.
- [42:17]
Anabe Sofa Advertiser
Plus my personal shopper brings everything I.
- [42:20]
iHeart Podcast Announcer
Need that same day. That makes it a breeze to decorate.
- [42:24]
Senator Ted Cruz
Get my shopping done and make time for all the holiday parties. Do it all this holiday season with Shipt.
- [42:31]
Anabe Sofa Advertiser
Download the app or visit shipt.com that's.
- [42:33]
iHeart Podcast Announcer
S h ipt.com this holiday season give the gift. Everyone will gather around a Vizio Smart TV now available at Walmart. From a super sized 100 inch TV to QLED TVs of all sizes, Vizio delivers breathtaking color and crystal clear picture quality that takes entertainment to the next level. Plus, with Watch Free plus built in, they can enjoy free live and on Demand TV right out of the box. Have a music lover on your list. They can stream their favorite music on the iHeartRadio app ready to go on every Vizio TV. The perfect gift is waiting. Head to Walmart.com and discover Vizio TVs today.
- [43:06]
Rodney Williams
I'm Rodney Williams. And I'm Travis Holloway. Welcome to the wealthbreak podcast, a real conversation about finance. Let's be honest, building weft doesn't look the same for everyone.
- [43:18]
iHeart Podcast Announcer
I feel like sometimes being broke is a cycle and that we might have.
- [43:21]
Rodney Williams
To revisit that and we're not stopping at success stories.
- [43:25]
Anabe Sofa Advertiser
What happens when it doesn't go right? How do you cope with it?
- [43:28]
Rodney Williams
Because wealth isn't just about money. It's about creating a life where you thrive and help others do the same. Listen to the Wealth Break podcast on the iHeartRadio app.
- [43:40]
Colgate Advertiser
Oral health goes beyond just aesthetics. It's deeply connected to your general health and well being. That's why preventing oral health problems before they start is so important. When you use the Colgate Total Active Prevention System, you're not just helping to prevent oral health problems like cavities and gingivitis, you're laying the groundwork for overall wellness. Colgate Total's three product routine includes a reformulated toothpaste, an innovative toothbrush, and a refreshing antibacterial mouthwash that all support a healthy mouth. In fact, the three products were designed to work together to be 15 times more effective at reducing bacteria buildup in six weeks starting from week one compared to a non antibacterial fluoride toothpaste and flat trim toothbrush. Take control of your oral health and get the Colgate Total Active Prevention System today so you can be dentist ready. Visit shop.colgate.com total.
- [44:32]
iHeart Podcast Announcer
This is an iHeart podcast.