Verdict with Ted Cruz - Chinese Communist Spies in the Democrat party, plus Virginia Redistricting Decision Causes Dem Meltdown

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.580 Guaranteed human.

00:00:05.400 Welcome, it is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson.

00:00:08.800 With you, Senator, we've got a lot to discuss.

00:00:10.960 Everything from New York to Virginia, Supreme Court,

00:00:14.800 and even some other crazy stuff that's happening in the world in today's show.

00:00:18.340 Look, today's episode is all about blue states gone wild.

00:00:22.400 It starts with California and the fact that we have a sitting Democrat mayor in California

00:00:27.740 who was just indicted and pleaded guilty to being a communist spy for china that's hard to believe

00:00:36.380 but that is reality it's a problem the democrat party has writ large we're also going to talk

00:00:41.700 about virginia the virginia supreme court decision striking down their rabidly partisan redistricting

00:00:48.620 democrats in washington are freaking out they they are willing they are talking about blowing

00:00:54.860 up the entire government of Virginia because all they care about is power. We're going to break down

00:01:00.120 what that Virginia Supreme Court decision was about and what the reaction of the Democrats is

00:01:04.720 to it. I also want to take a moment to talk to you about an incredible organization that we want to

00:01:09.580 make sure is on your radar screen. It's called Compassion International. I want you to pause

00:01:14.560 what you're doing for just one minute, and I want you to hear about Alejandra. She lives in a remote 0.96

00:01:20.500 community with very few resources and little to no health care. So when Alejandra gets sick,

00:01:27.320 her parents have no real options, no doctors in their community, and no money for real medical

00:01:33.920 care. By the third day, her body was shutting down. She woke up and just long enough to tell

00:01:40.060 her mom, I can't take the pain anymore. I can't keep going. Her parents drove hours to find a

00:01:48.100 doctor who tried everything, but she needed a private hospital. And that was impossible for

00:01:54.140 her family to afford. And that is when Compassion International stepped in. Now, through compassion,

00:02:01.340 Alejandra was treated, and against all odds, she survived. She lived because someone just like you

00:02:08.320 took action. Right now, unfortunately, there are children just like Alejandra who won't survive

00:02:14.840 even less someone like you steps in.

00:02:17.580 Compassion International partners with local churches,

00:02:21.300 providing children with the support that they need.

00:02:24.340 Critical medical care, plus food, education, and the hope of the gospel.

00:02:30.340 All in Jesus' name.

00:02:32.440 So help a child just like Alejandra today.

00:02:35.600 You can visit Compassion.com.

00:02:38.660 That's Compassion.com.

00:02:40.880 All right, Senator, let's start by going back in history. 0.94

00:02:45.660 We have seen a lot of really significant infiltration into our government going through elected officials with China.

00:02:54.420 China spends an incredible amount of money spying in the United States of America.

00:02:58.800 But we've never heard about an elected official actually working for the CCP until what we've seen in L.A.

00:03:06.220 But I do think we need to set the stage so people understand what we've witnessed in this mayor, technically outside of L.A., in a very plush area of California, is not only shocking, but it tells you just how much the CCP is willing and wanting to get involved in our politics in this country.

00:03:26.600 And there was even bribery that came up in Washington, D.C. this past week, offering 10 grand to someone that's on a committee to one of the staffers that actually supposed to be investigating China, trying to have influence in the United States of America.

00:03:41.520 Look, there is a systematic effort by the Chinese communist government to undermine the United States of America, to undermine United States government.

00:03:49.660 And in particular, they've targeted the Democrat Party because the Democrat Party is apparently open for business.

00:03:55.740 Now, if you look at the latest facts, I'm going to read from the press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

00:04:01.900 Los Angeles, the mayor of Arcadia has been charged in federal court with acting as an illegal agent of the People's Republic of China, the PRC, the Justice Department announced today.

00:04:14.700 Eileen Wang, 58, of Arcadia is charged via information with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

00:04:25.740 Now, you could hear the Democrat partisans, you could hear the media say, oh, this is a partisan attack by the Trump Department of Justice.

00:04:34.100 They're just going after Democrats.

00:04:35.540 There is no chance this elected Democrat mayor is an agent working for the Chinese Communist government.

00:04:44.400 Well, let me read you the next paragraph.

00:04:47.180 In a related filing, Wang has agreed to plead guilty to the felony count.

00:04:53.660 In other words, she's admitting it, which comes with a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

00:05:01.120 Wang was elected in November 2022 to the Arcadia City Council, a five-person governing body from which the mayor is selected on a rotating basis.

00:05:10.680 Quote, individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy, said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Asylee. 0.60

00:05:20.480 The plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend our homeland against China's effort to corrupt our government. 0.58

00:05:29.300 By her own admission, Eileen Wang secretly served the interests of the Chinese government. 0.65

00:05:35.460 Let this serve as a clear warning. Individuals who act on behalf of foreign governments to influence our democracy will be identified, investigated and brought to justice.

00:05:48.480 According to the plea agreement from late 2020 through 2022, Wang and Yao Ning Mike Sun, 65, at Chino Hills, worked at the direction and control of the PRC government officials and coordinated with U.S.-based individuals to promote the PRC's interests by, among other things, promoting pro-PRC propaganda in the United States.

00:06:15.520 Sun is already serving a four-year federal prison sentence after he pleaded guilty in October 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

00:06:26.700 Wang and Sun worked together to operate U.S. News Center, a website that purported to be a news source for the local Chinese-American community.

00:06:36.600 Wang and Sun received and executed directives from the PRC government officials to post pro-PRC content on the website.

00:06:45.140 For example, in June of 2021, a PRC official contacted Wang and other individuals via the WeChat encrypted messaging application with pre-written news articles.

00:06:59.720 In other words, the Chinese Communist Party wrote the news articles, including a PRC official written essay in the Los Angeles Times that stated Chinese stance on the Jin Yang issue.

00:07:12.300 There is no genocide in Jin Yang.

00:07:14.660 There is no such thing as forced labor in any production activity, including cotton production.

00:07:19.600 spreading such rumor to do defame China, destroy Xinjiang's stability and stability,

00:07:26.760 weaken local economy, suppress China's development. Minutes later, Wang posted the

00:07:33.540 article on her own website and responded to the PRC official with a link to the article on her

00:07:38.280 website. The others in the group chat did the same. The PRC official responded so fast. Thank

00:07:46.000 you everyone now this pattern and by the way it goes on and on uh with repeated instances of this

00:07:54.620 this is not a unique problem so let me say two things number one ben have you heard a single

00:08:03.080 democrat denounce the fact that an elected democrat mayor in california yeah was a now

00:08:13.480 admitted and soon to be convicted agent of the Chinese Communist Party.

00:08:19.400 Have you heard a single Democrat say a negative word about that?

00:08:22.100 No, and I think you even go a step further than that, and you say the reason why is because

00:08:27.500 it seems like the Chinese Communist Party and the Democratic Party are almost one and

00:08:31.820 the same in so many of these instances.

00:08:33.100 They've gotten a free pass for years.

00:08:35.500 Yeah, look, I don't want to go that far.

00:08:37.900 I think that's an overstatement.

00:08:39.820 But let's take some of the facts.

00:08:42.060 So Senator Dianne Feinstein, long time.

00:08:45.180 I was going to say, exhibit A of how I would fight back.

00:08:47.140 So make it for me.

00:08:48.680 Look, long time Democrat senator from California. 1.00

00:08:51.880 She had a Chinese spy working in her office as her driver, like taking her everywhere. 1.00

00:08:57.700 She's a Chinese spy.

00:08:58.880 Eric Swalwell, who just resigned from Congress in disgrace.

00:09:03.460 He dated a Chinese spy, Fang Fang, a top aide for New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

00:09:11.660 Yep.

00:09:12.060 was a secret Chinese agent. 0.78

00:09:15.600 Now, this is a pattern.

00:09:17.160 You've got California.

00:09:18.400 You've got New York.

00:09:19.620 You've got a clear effort.

00:09:22.060 Listen, all right, when I was elected 14 years ago,

00:09:25.660 I arrived in D.C., and I began saying then,

00:09:29.540 I think the single greatest long-term geopolitical threat to the United States 0.71

00:09:35.840 is communist China. 0.83

00:09:38.780 Yeah.

00:09:39.000 Now, Ben, when I started saying that,

00:09:41.680 That was a lonely view in Washington.

00:09:44.880 Yeah.

00:09:45.100 Every single Democrat disagreed with me.

00:09:48.160 And most of the Republicans disagreed with me.

00:09:50.540 Most of them, they looked at China.

00:09:53.080 They saw nothing but dollar signs as far as the eye could see.

00:09:55.900 They just saw money to be made.

00:09:57.600 Yeah, economic growth.

00:09:59.180 It was all about the money.

00:10:00.200 It was all about the cash.

00:10:01.260 It was all about cheap goods.

00:10:02.160 It was all about expansion.

00:10:03.800 Now, I will say over these 14 years, I think my view has been vindicated powerfully.

00:10:08.580 more and more people most republicans have opened their eyes to this and you are seeing some 0.52

00:10:13.560 democrats but what does it say that the chinese government is able to infiltrate to put chinese 0.59

00:10:20.720 spies on the staff of sitting democrat senators is able to send chinese spies to have sexual

00:10:29.160 relations with prominent democrats and here are on top committees that's one thing i think people

00:10:37.400 don't understand they target people that have access to significant u.s information they're

00:10:43.420 not wasting their time with some low-level person and and and to elect a chinese spy as a mayor

00:10:51.060 in a u.s town i'm not aware of any instance of that happening in our history yeah and by the way

00:10:57.280 you know it's interesting about this case and i don't i don't know if if you if you heard this but

00:11:01.140 i was briefed about this earlier today i was doing a tv hit and they were like i they were

00:11:05.580 Like, we want to get into just how good China is.

00:11:09.540 They literally altered and changed the way she looked for the campaign posters and billboards 0.98

00:11:16.480 and the stuff that was up about her. 1.00

00:11:19.580 Like, China went all in, apparently, to make sure she got elected. 0.85

00:11:24.300 And they even changed how she looked to make her look better than she was 1.00

00:11:27.740 to hopefully give her a better chance to win.

00:11:30.040 Like, this is not some low-level, you know, group of people in China.

00:11:34.660 They're all in to try to win elections in America when they're involved in it.

00:11:38.520 Wait, Ben, you're saying that's wrong?

00:11:42.600 I'm saying...

00:11:43.960 So my re-elect campaign that showed me a 6'5 and blonde and ripped like a star of Baywatch,

00:11:50.460 was there a problem with that?

00:11:52.000 In fact, that was my idea, if I remember correctly.

00:11:55.220 I was the one who said, we've got to make Ted Cruz look better.

00:11:57.300 To be clear, you were the body model for that.

00:12:00.160 Yes, of course.

00:12:01.660 AI is really quite incredible.

00:12:03.520 AI is brilliant. 1.00

00:12:04.560 It was made in China, really, right? 0.95

00:12:07.680 All right. 0.96

00:12:08.480 So you might ask, all right, mayor of Arcadia, Chinese spy. 0.97

00:12:13.000 Did they get anything for that? 0.97

00:12:14.640 Like, what was the benefit?

00:12:15.720 Okay, posted some Chinese websites.

00:12:18.160 Let me read to you a story from NBC Los Angeles last year.

00:12:24.920 21 children some birthed by surrogate mothers found in arcadia home in child abuse investigation

00:12:33.460 a couple was arrested in connection with a child abuse investigation that led authorities to their

00:12:38.520 arcadia california home that would be the same town that this chinese spy was the mayor of

00:12:43.160 where they found more than 20 young children some of whom were birthed by surrogate mothers

00:12:50.920 according to police. Police say they're investigating whether the children found in

00:12:55.060 the home of the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles were part of a surrogacy scam.

00:13:02.280 The home's residents, Sylvia Zhang, 38, and Guzhan Zhuang, 65, were released from custody pending

00:13:10.660 further investigation. It's not clear how many children at the home were born to surrogate

00:13:15.520 mothers but one of the mothers was found in texas by a bioethics watchdog group the woman said she

00:13:23.620 was misled into thinking the child was the only child who would be taken in at the arcadia residence

00:13:28.220 um this is a serious threat and and i think we ought to ask why is the democrat party so open

00:13:38.100 to this why are they so susceptible what it is about about their policies and i think the reason

00:13:43.900 is if you look at the major interest groups that support the democrat party you have big business

00:13:52.360 you have big tech you have big hollywood and you have big universities yeah all four of those

00:14:00.580 are in bed with communist china in a major way and so when their supporters say hey 0.86

00:14:07.840 this Chinese communist is a great person, 0.75

00:14:11.060 it is there are far too many officials in the Democrat Party

00:14:15.240 that are open to that argument.

00:14:16.700 I want to talk something else about deterrence here,

00:14:19.940 and that is something that was glaring to me.

00:14:23.640 I always look at cause and effect,

00:14:25.460 and when you're reading that first article,

00:14:27.460 there's two people involved.

00:14:28.640 One got apparently five years.

00:14:31.320 The other gets 10.

00:14:32.240 Now, if you serve 65%, 70%,

00:14:35.040 depending on the sentencing guidelines for federal crimes, 0.84

00:14:37.840 then she'll get out in probably six and a half, seven years.

00:14:41.220 He'll get out in two and a half, three.

00:14:44.700 And that's like, if you think about what they were doing,

00:14:48.680 the risks they're taking,

00:14:50.200 and even if they get busted and get the maximum Senate, Senator,

00:14:54.700 they still have a life ahead of them.

00:14:56.660 Like, this is not like, you know, going to jail for 30 years or 40 years

00:15:02.920 or even 20 years.

00:15:04.080 I mean, five years down to two and a half, three, ten down to six and a half, maybe house arrest, good behavior.

00:15:10.720 Like, I got to ask the question, what the hell are we doing as a country with our sentencing guidelines?

00:15:16.600 If you're an American citizen, you're spying for an adversary of the United States of America. 0.66

00:15:21.280 I don't care if it's Iran. I don't care if it's Russia. I don't care if it's China.

00:15:25.940 And you are committing espionage. By the way, it used to be a big deal.

00:15:29.620 So how are we not bulking up these sentencing guidelines to where there might actually be a moment where you think maybe this isn't worth it to go work for the Chinese Communist Party or the Russians or the Iranians because I don't want to go to jail for the rest of my life if I get caught? 0.67

00:15:44.280 Look, fully agree. The idea that you would have an elected mayor in the United States serving as a spy for our enemy, for the Chinese communists, the maximum she can face under current law is 10 years in jail.

00:15:59.620 she may well get substantially less than that.

00:16:02.980 That is not much of a deterrent. 0.75

00:16:04.700 I think we ought to ratchet up that punishment.

00:16:07.680 And here's another example of how widespread this is.

00:16:10.200 This is an article from the New York Times.

00:16:12.620 He offered a lawmaker's aid, quick cash.

00:16:15.460 Was he spying for China?

00:16:17.440 When a man identifying himself as Chris Chen reached out this winter

00:16:21.320 to an aide on a House committee focused on threats from China,

00:16:24.780 he came armed with a lucrative offer.

00:16:27.620 The staff member, Mr. Chen proposed, could earn $10,000 or more by barely lifting a finger.

00:16:35.100 All he would need to do is agree to phone calls every other week to share information about the committee's work and U.S. foreign policy about China.

00:16:44.540 Insights into U.S. trade or national security issues, including the Trump administration's plans for Venezuela in the aftermath of the January military operation there, would be especially valuable, Mr. Chen said.

00:16:55.900 To sweeten the pot, Mr. Chen repeatedly promised to send the aide $2,000 up front.

00:17:03.620 The offer seemed too good to be true.

00:17:06.220 Instead of quietly accepting the deal, the aide, whose identity the New York Times agreed to withhold

00:17:11.600 because he works on sensitive policy issues related to China,

00:17:15.900 reported it to his bosses on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

00:17:20.780 The panel quickly concluded that Mr. Chen was not the Singapore-based business consultant he claimed to be,

00:17:28.520 but instead was likely a Chinese intelligence officer or contractor seeking a new recruit.

00:17:36.180 Rather than cut off contact, the committee's Republican majority staff agreed to keep talking to Mr. Chen.

00:17:42.360 They recorded a series of calls this winter to learn more about Mr. Chen's tactics and interests.

00:17:48.100 Transcripts of those calls, which the committee shared with the Times alongside some of the recorded audio, depict a determined, at times impatient, individual, eager to earn the trust of his mark and get down to business.

00:18:03.880 Mr. Chen mixes holiday greetings with elaborate questions about manufacturing in Vietnam and Mexico and the future of Venezuela's oil industry.

00:18:12.620 This is a pattern, whether it is trying to recruit spies who are staffers on Capitol Hill or whether it is placing spies as staffers to Democrat senators or whether it is sending honeypots to sleep with Democrat elected officials like Eric Swalwell or whether it is in this instance.

00:18:35.520 And this is the most brazen, electing a Chinese communist spy as a mayor, a Democrat mayor.

00:18:42.760 This is a concerted effort, and we need to be serious fighting this.

00:18:46.520 I want to take a moment and ask you to help the people in Israel with my friends at the IFCJ working right now on the ground for all those in need.

00:18:56.460 When we talk about Israel, we're not just talking about a place.

00:18:59.600 We're talking about a people connected to a promise, a promise made by God.

00:19:04.000 one he has never broken and one that continues even today because God's character doesn't change

00:19:10.980 what he begins he sustains what he promises he fulfills and that matters today right now in

00:19:18.900 Israel families run to shelters as sirens sound now this isn't just a crisis it's a call to respond

00:19:26.360 for Christians caring for Jewish people isn't rooted in politics it's rooted in trust and a

00:19:32.760 god who keeps his word so we don't stay distant we step in with prayer and practical help the

00:19:39.720 international fellowship of christians and jews is on the ground bringing food caring for the

00:19:45.000 vulnerable and reminding people they're not alone this is what it looks like to align your heart

00:19:51.060 with god's to pray to show up and to care so join us in praying for peace of jerusalem and for the

00:19:58.720 people who need it right now visit pray ifcj.org that's pray ifcj.org why is the democratic party

00:20:11.580 so quiet on this why are they not condemning this why are they not openly talking about it

00:20:16.880 why is the media not discovering talking about this it's part of the reason why we love doing

00:20:20.920 this show i want to move to virginia and by the way ben i i do want to say you know when you

00:20:26.900 pitched to me last week that we should say

00:20:29.040 verdict is sponsored by China

00:20:30.780 prison camps. 1.00

00:20:32.400 I thought it was a persuasive argument.

00:20:35.680 And you did

00:20:36.860 say that someone offered you a bucket of

00:20:38.820 cash. But

00:20:40.100 I, for one, am glad. It takes more than two

00:20:42.740 grand, my friend. More than two grand.

00:20:45.740 Now, look, if

00:20:46.740 they offered to let you go on

00:20:48.740 the pro-tennis circuit...

00:20:50.980 Yes, yes. I love you, man, but you'd

00:20:52.760 sell yourself out to Communist China to go on

00:20:54.700 the pro-tennis circuit. No, no, never.

00:20:56.420 If anyone ever came to me

00:20:59.580 And offered me money to be a spy 1.00

00:21:01.000 They might be the dumbest person 1.00

00:21:02.860 How about if you got to win Wimbledon 1.00

00:21:06.140 Hell no

00:21:06.660 I've never been on this show before

00:21:09.180 If you're not watching right now

00:21:10.580 I just gave the number one salute

00:21:12.320 I bleed America so much

00:21:15.300 I'm proud of you brother

00:21:16.640 You can offer me a billion dollars

00:21:17.660 And I would say it in a foreign language to you

00:21:20.460 You know what yourself

00:21:21.740 I just said to ask you

00:21:24.280 Because I'm like

00:21:24.980 You know when they say everybody has a price?

00:21:29.120 Like, no.

00:21:29.980 Like, on being pro-American, like, no.

00:21:31.900 I would risk my life for this country, but I wouldn't.

00:21:34.360 The idea, I remember, it's so funny you talk about spies.

00:21:39.420 Movie Breach.

00:21:40.320 You ever watch the movie Breach about the worst spies in American history

00:21:44.200 who was giving out information?

00:21:46.740 He finally got caught.

00:21:48.260 It's a phenomenal true story movie.

00:21:50.200 Is this Robert Hassan?

00:21:51.840 Is that who it is?

00:21:53.380 No, it's Robert Hassan.

00:21:54.380 What's the guy's name?

00:21:55.480 Oh, now you're going to make me Google the spy's name.

00:21:58.040 But go watch Breach Movie.

00:21:59.320 I don't know the movie, so I'm...

00:22:00.480 Okay, it's a phenomenal movie.

00:22:03.120 See, now you're going to make me go...

00:22:04.520 Here, we're doing this live.

00:22:06.660 Breach Movie.

00:22:08.320 It came out in 07.

00:22:11.060 It was...

00:22:12.100 Ryan Felipe and Chris Cooper were in the movie.

00:22:15.040 Chris Cooper plays Robert Hansen.

00:22:17.780 Hey!

00:22:18.680 Excuse me, did I pull that name out of the ether?

00:22:22.820 I am impressed.

00:22:23.800 I give you a golf clap for that.

00:22:25.780 I give you a golf clap. 0.99

00:22:27.220 I haven't even seen the damn movie. 0.99

00:22:29.820 Oh, I can't believe you haven't seen the movie. 0.99

00:22:31.620 Like, I'm disappointed in you for not seeing the movie.

00:22:33.760 That's almost like un-American. 0.77

00:22:35.120 I'm a little worried now.

00:22:36.340 But go watch the movie.

00:22:37.680 But when that happened, my mentor, who, by the way, just turned 84.

00:22:42.760 So that's a big deal, John Ashcroft.

00:22:44.840 His first day on the job in 2000, they go, oh, and by the way,

00:22:49.940 We're about to take down one of the worst spies in American history

00:22:54.680 and had to get read in on this.

00:22:56.800 And then the movie came out, and of course I asked him a million questions about it.

00:23:00.040 But when you see a guy like that do that, it still blows my mind.

00:23:03.640 You can be an American.

00:23:04.900 You can work in the FBI.

00:23:06.520 You can be just selling these secrets just because either you're disgruntled 0.99

00:23:10.280 and you're a little bit crazy.

00:23:11.840 It blows my mind that people sell out their country. 0.99

00:23:14.080 It really does this day.

00:23:14.940 But go watch the movie, and I can't believe I've actually watched

00:23:17.180 a true story, Senator, that you haven't watched yet.

00:23:19.040 But I feel like I've straight-up one-upped you on this one.

00:23:23.100 I feel good about it right now.

00:23:24.200 All right.

00:23:24.920 You've got to tell me when you watch the movie, by the way.

00:23:27.640 Experience Harry Styles live in London, England at Wembley Stadium.

00:23:34.960 This is Harry Styles.

00:23:36.100 iHeartRadio wants to send you and a mate across the pond

00:23:39.560 with flights from Virgin Atlantic, hotel from TripCentral.ca,

00:23:43.920 tickets, and $1,000 cash.

00:23:46.580 Here we go now.

00:23:47.320 Download the free iHeartRadio app.

00:23:49.540 Listen to iHeart new music for 10 minutes.

00:23:51.800 Enter to win.

00:23:52.880 Every day is another chance to see Harry Styles.

00:23:55.500 Very excited to see you at the show.

00:23:57.120 Kiss all the time.

00:23:57.900 Disco occasionally.

00:23:58.860 Available now.

00:24:01.240 Let's move on to Virginia real quick.

00:24:03.360 And this one is also a very interesting story. 0.91

00:24:06.880 Democrats, when they tell you they're crazy and they hate this country and they hate our laws and our rules, like believe them.

00:24:13.840 Democrats now are threatening to boot the entire Virginia Supreme Court 0.86

00:24:18.960 And let's explain how we got to this point, Senator

00:24:22.540 Because this is a warning of us coming with our U.S. Supreme Court

00:24:26.120 They want to get rid of it

00:24:27.500 They want to pack it every time they get a ruling they don't like

00:24:29.820 It doesn't matter

00:24:31.080 There is no law and order anymore in the Democratic Party

00:24:33.640 They don't get their way

00:24:34.760 We just dismantle the Supreme Court

00:24:37.400 Dismantle the Constitution

00:24:38.580 Get rid of everybody in our way

00:24:40.020 well look the virginia state legislature sadly is democrat the the governor abigail spanberger

00:24:48.140 ran as a moderate she actually ran saying gerrymandering is wrong we should oppose

00:24:52.860 gerrymandering yeah she got elected and by the way abigail spanberger is a object lesson

00:24:59.460 for elections across the country the democrats who run as moderates are lying to you every word 0.94

00:25:07.040 she said on the campaign trail was a lie she got in as this hard left zealot she immediately

00:25:13.720 stopped cooperating with federal law enforcement started releasing illegal immigrants violent

00:25:19.480 criminals into virginia she began proposing new taxes on just about everything you can imagine

00:25:25.320 and when it came to redistricting the current map in virginia there are 11

00:25:30.600 house members in virginia six of them are democrats five of them are republicans that's

00:25:35.500 about right uh virginia is a purple state glenn youngkin a republican was the previous governor

00:25:43.400 uh in the 2024 election kamala harris won virginia but but by just a few points so six

00:25:49.780 five was about right in terms of where the state was divided but the democrats for them power is 0.99

00:25:56.300 the number one objective and so they rammed through an emergency redistricting plan that

00:26:02.720 took the map from 6-5 Democrat to 10-1 Democrat and they told the roughly 45 percent of Virginians

00:26:12.780 who vote Republican you no longer get representation we're going to disenfranchise you because all we

00:26:18.800 care about is power and basically they drew these horrible maps where much of Virginia the rural

00:26:26.240 parts are bright red and you've got northern Virginia which are basically D.C. suburbs which

00:26:31.300 a bunch of government employees, many of whom were very liberal. And so they drew these maps

00:26:36.020 where most of the districts reached into Northern Virginia, grabbed a bunch of government bureaucrats

00:26:40.780 and used them as left-wing voters to turn the rest of the district blue.

00:26:45.620 Well, the problem is they got challenged in court. And initially a trial judge ruled

00:26:52.860 that the redistricting was illegal under the Virginia state constitution.

00:26:57.680 That got appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court.

00:27:01.280 Now, the Virginia Supreme Court, the justices are Democrats.

00:27:04.580 They were put on there by Democrats.

00:27:06.040 They were confirmed by Democrat legislatures.

00:27:08.700 The Virginia Supreme Court last week, shockingly, most observers were astonished,

00:27:14.160 looked at the Virginia state constitution and said,

00:27:16.520 hey, what the legislature did here was illegal, and they struck it down.

00:27:20.580 By the way, the previous attorney general of Virginia, Republican Jason Meares,

00:27:25.220 had written an opinion saying under the Virginia Constitution, you can't do this.

00:27:30.120 This is contrary to law.

00:27:31.820 Now, when that happened, Democrats in Washington, their heads exploded

00:27:37.680 because this was critical to their seizing power.

00:27:43.540 Since then, they have called for, number one,

00:27:48.260 they've called for putting a mandatory retirement age in Virginia on the Supreme Court

00:27:53.240 of 54. Their entire purpose is to throw every justice on the Supreme Court off so they could

00:28:01.920 pack them with left-wing activists who will uphold the redistricting. They have also

00:28:09.140 talked about just fundamentally overturning. So Mark Elias, who is the hardcore left-wing Democrat

00:28:19.600 lawyer who brings all of these incredibly partisan decisions. Anytime a Republican is

00:28:26.180 elected in close election, Mark Elias files a lawsuit seeking to overturn the voter's will.

00:28:31.680 He is one of the most rabid partisans in the country. He tweeted out a quote from the Virginia

00:28:37.380 Constitution. Quote, whenever any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes,

00:28:44.020 A majority of the community hath an indubitable, inalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it in such a manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public will.

00:28:59.660 And to be clear, what he is saying is I don't like what the Virginia Supreme Court concluded, even though they're Democrats.

00:29:07.880 So abolish the government of the state of Virginia.

00:29:11.120 That's how radical these zealots are. And by the way, you combine that with the recent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that concluded that racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional, that drawing lines, drawing congressional lines, discriminating, saying we're going to put people of one race in the district, take people of another race out of the district, that that's unconstitutional.

00:29:35.000 It had been an open question whether complying with the Voting Rights Act was essentially an exception to the constitutional prohibition on racial gerrymandering.

00:29:46.400 And the Supreme Court concluded 6-3, no it is not, that the Constitution, the 14th Amendment, the 15th Amendment, prohibit discrimination based on race, prohibit voting discrimination based on race.

00:29:59.360 I think that is the right reading of the Constitution.

00:30:01.400 And the Democrats have lost their ever loving mind because understand, look, all right, all of New England, you take the states in New England and the Northeast, which vote anywhere from 60, 40 Democrat to 65, 35 Democrat, depending on the state.

00:30:21.060 How many Republicans do you think are elected in all of New England?

00:30:24.840 I'm going to go with zero.

00:30:26.500 Zero would be right.

00:30:27.940 In state after state, Massachusetts, zero.

00:30:30.380 Maine, zero. Vermont, zero. New Hampshire, zero. Rhode Island, zero. Connecticut, zero.

00:30:38.260 That is, they just gerrymandered the heck out of it, and they have 100% of the representation Democrat.

00:30:44.840 In the South, Democrats have used the Voting Rights Act to insist, if you can draw a district that elects an African-American Democrat, you must elect that Democrat.

00:30:58.920 Now, the bizarre thing is we've seen Democrats who also insist, and one of the more absurd things, they've said, well, in light of the Supreme Court decision that discriminating based on race is unconstitutional, you've seen Democrats saying South Carolina will never, ever elect an African-American to Congress.

00:31:20.700 Now, I have to admit, when that happened, I pulled out Twitter.

00:31:24.820 I like when you get your little snarky tweets out there.

00:31:27.940 I knew as soon as I'd said I was waiting for a countdown clock until you did what you did.

00:31:32.340 I could have predicted that tweet in a moment's notice.

00:31:36.280 As soon as I saw, I was like, I can't wait.

00:31:38.120 And then you did it.

00:31:38.700 So keep going.

00:31:39.880 Yeah.

00:31:40.020 I said, hey, Grock, who is Tim Scott?

00:31:43.220 Yeah.

00:31:43.660 And why did Democrats believe he's not black?

00:31:47.120 Because he's a Republican.

00:31:48.360 Yeah.

00:31:48.740 Tim Scott is my colleague in the Senate.

00:31:51.320 He's African-American.

00:31:53.100 He was elected to Congress to a House district in South Carolina.

00:31:57.520 Then he became a senator.

00:31:58.720 He's been reelected over and over and over again in South Carolina.

00:32:02.580 And yet, to the Democrats, he does not count as black. 0.68

00:32:07.220 Because if you're a Republican, suddenly you're white. 0.73

00:32:09.900 It doesn't matter. 0.60

00:32:10.840 And mind you and their view.

00:32:12.420 And by the way, Tennessee, your home state.

00:32:14.740 Oh, dude, this is the best one.

00:32:16.220 Steve Cohen, who's like the whitest guy you'll ever see.

00:32:19.040 He doesn't like me, by the way.

00:32:20.280 He was my congressman for many years.

00:32:23.060 They were losing on TV the other day, and I got to smack some of them around

00:32:26.120 because they were saying, you're taking away this seat 0.84

00:32:28.300 that African-Americans are being disfringed.

00:32:30.020 I'm like, hold on a second. 0.99

00:32:31.320 Steve Cohen is like the whitest old cranky white guy you've ever met. 0.99

00:32:35.460 But he's a liberal Democrat, so he's a black guy. 0.99

00:32:37.360 He's a Democrat.

00:32:38.080 But here's what's interesting. 0.98

00:32:39.120 Charlotte Bergman, who is an African-American single mother, 1.00

00:32:42.860 is probably going to win the seat now. 1.00

00:32:45.660 So wait a second.

00:32:46.320 You're saying as a result of the Supreme Court decision, 0.82

00:32:50.660 a white guy, a Democrat's going to lose, likely to a black woman.

00:32:55.240 To a black single mother who lost a family member to violent crime in Memphis. 0.71

00:33:01.580 And the Democrats' position is defeating a white Democrat guy 0.99

00:33:06.760 to elect a black Republican woman is racist against black people. 0.99

00:33:11.980 Yes, it is. 1.00

00:33:12.640 How do you say, no, no, no, this white liberal is blacker than this actual African American woman? 1.00

00:33:19.160 That is their view. 0.97

00:33:20.500 and understand all of their hysterics come down to power.

00:33:26.080 Like if you're saying abolish the Virginia Supreme Court

00:33:29.360 because I don't like what they rule.

00:33:31.020 And by the way, we appointed them, but we still don't like how they rule.

00:33:34.640 So if you don't rule in a way that keeps us in power,

00:33:38.060 we will burn down the foundations of our government.

00:33:42.960 That is, that's just sad.

00:33:46.880 It is.

00:33:47.420 Welcome to the Democratic Party in 2026, my friends.

00:33:50.800 Don't forget, we do this show Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

00:33:53.120 Hit that subscribe or auto-download button wherever you get your podcasts.

00:33:56.180 We also do this show on YouTube, so you can watch us on YouTube as well.

00:33:58.940 And please write us a five-star review wherever you're listening to this podcast.

00:34:03.240 It helps us reach a new audience, and we appreciate your time and listening as always.

00:34:06.540 Ascend and I will see you back here, Lord willing, on Friday morning.

Verdict with Ted Cruz - May 13, 2026

Chinese Communist Spies in the Democrat party, plus Virginia Redistricting Decision Causes Dem Meltdown

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript