Verdict with Ted Cruz - NPR Lawsuit Unpacked, the Fight for Women’s Sports plus Comey & a Message in the Sand Week In Review

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.580 Guaranteed human.

00:00:05.340 Welcome.

00:00:06.040 It is Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:00:07.600 Weekend Review.

00:00:08.640 Ben Ferguson with you.

00:00:09.760 And here are three big stories that you may have missed that we talked about this week.

00:00:13.500 First up, NPR and three Colorado radio stations suing the Trump administration.

00:00:20.100 They want their free money back.

00:00:21.820 You know, your taxpayer dollars that you work so hard for.

00:00:24.940 Well, the Trump administration is fighting back.

00:00:27.360 And we'll give you the details in just a moment.

00:00:30.000 Also, California is continuing to defy Trump on boys and girls sports.

00:00:36.160 And some politicians are starting to flip on the issue.

00:00:39.760 And it may even be changing in California.

00:00:42.600 That in just a moment.

00:00:44.120 And finally, James Comey and his 86-47 seashell message on the beach.

00:00:50.240 Well, it's a story that's just not adding up.

00:00:52.780 And we'll dive into that as well.

00:00:54.260 It's the Weekend Review.

00:00:55.860 And it starts right now.

00:00:57.260 I want to move also to the NPR lawsuit and get your take on that, Senator, as well.

00:01:03.080 So this week, NPR, National Public Radio, and three Colorado public radio stations filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Trump White House.

00:01:12.580 Against the president's executive order barring the use of funds for NPR and for PBS.

00:01:18.480 And the lawsuit says, quote, it is not always obvious when the government has acted with a retaliatory purpose in violation of the First Amendment.

00:01:28.260 But this wolf comes as a wolf.

00:01:30.540 The order targets NPR and PBS expressly because, in the president's views, their news and other content is not fair, accurate, or unbiased.

00:01:42.400 Now, let me stop and say, listen, you could file a reasonable lawsuit arguing that on any of these particular executive orders that where you're dealing with congressional appropriations,

00:01:54.500 that challenging the authority of an executive order to limit congressional appropriations, that that's an area that's being litigated, that's going to be litigated and reasonable minds can can differ on what is permissible.

00:02:05.680 And we've talked in previous podcasts that there is that there is a significant dispute over the president's authority to engage in what is called impoundment,

00:02:15.940 which is essentially to decline to spend money that Congress has appropriated that you want to file a lawsuit over that.

00:02:24.060 OK, courts will sort that out. 0.99

00:02:25.920 That'll be litigated.

00:02:27.220 But but here what this lawsuit is claiming is that the First Amendment prohibits defunding NPR.

00:02:33.280 And the reason they say it really is absurd is you can't defund the NPR simply because, quote, their news and other content is not fair, accurate or unbiased.

00:02:45.260 Now, let me say, I think no objective person on planet Earth can contend that NPR or PBS are fair, accurate or unbiased.

00:02:54.240 And so we really are in Alice in Wonderland through the looking glass where you now have litigants arguing because NPR and PBS are dishonest and political.

00:03:05.900 You can't cut off funding because cutting off funding would be silencing our right to be dishonest and political and not just look, you absolutely have a right to be dishonest and political.

00:03:16.380 So MSNBC can publish any nonsense they want. 1.00

00:03:20.600 CNN can publish any nonsense they want.

00:03:22.480 Now, nobody watches them.

00:03:24.020 It's kind of a tree falling in the woods, but they have a right to say it. 0.96

00:03:27.080 They have a right to say utter nonsense.

00:03:30.320 But NPR's argument is not only do they have a right to say it, which I agree they do, but they have a right to have the taxpayers fund them forever, that it is illegal for us to stop paying for their partisan lies.

00:03:42.920 I got to say that is an absurd claim, and it is the simple, simple reality of the absurdity of the left.

00:03:54.280 Yeah, it is.

00:03:54.880 And I wonder when we will actually get resolution on this.

00:03:58.800 Is there a real chance you think that we could actually defund NPR, PBS and just say, hey, make it on your own?

00:04:05.800 Is there a real chance?

00:04:07.080 Look, I certainly hope so.

00:04:08.920 I am pressing to do so.

00:04:10.220 I'm pressing Congress to do so.

00:04:11.840 I'm pressing Congress to enact and codify the doge cuts that we've seen Elon Musk and doge put in place.

00:04:19.860 We're going to have a battle on Congress.

00:04:21.320 We're going to have a battle in Congress.

00:04:22.520 If it has to go through regular order, what regular order means is is is the standard path of legislation.

00:04:29.620 That means it's subject to filibuster.

00:04:31.460 That means you need 60 votes in the Senate, which means you need seven Democrats.

00:04:35.620 If you have to get seven Democrats and that's how they save it is what you're saying.

00:04:39.580 That's right.

00:04:40.040 That's their ideal situation is you guys complain about it and we keep giving billions to our propaganda machines.

00:04:46.460 Yeah. Zero Democrats will vote to defund NPR or PBS, which means if it goes through regular order, it will not happen.

00:04:55.160 The other way, isn't that proof of just how biased they are?

00:04:57.760 The fact that zero of them would would go to defund it because they know how valuable it is to their propaganda and they don't care.

00:05:03.820 In fact, I want you to listen to Catherine Marr, the CEO of NPR, who describes the First Amendment as the, quote, the greatest challenge that that she faces to controlling narratives here.

00:05:16.480 Give a listen.

00:05:17.480 The number one challenge here that we we see is, of course, the First Amendment in the United States is a fairly robust protection of rights.

00:05:27.520 And and that is a protection of rights, both for platforms, which I actually think is very important.

00:05:31.780 The platforms have those rights to be able to regulate what kind of content they want on their sites.

00:05:36.240 But it also means that it is a little bit tricky to really address some of the real challenges of where does bad information come from and sort of the influence peddlers who have made a real market economy around it.

00:05:48.920 I mean, that's where your tax dollars are going.

00:05:50.840 And that's the woman who's in charge. 1.00

00:05:52.700 Damn it. 1.00

00:05:53.260 That pesky First Amendment. 1.00

00:05:54.740 We want to censor.

00:05:55.760 We want to silence voices we disagree with.

00:05:58.760 And that First Amendment stands in the way.

00:06:00.760 And here, I want you to listen to this, this montage of Catherine Marr being being grilled at congressional hearing.

00:06:08.400 Give a listen to just how extreme the NPR CEO is.

00:06:12.960 And I welcome the opportunity to discuss the essential role of public media in delivering unbiased, nonpartisan, fact based reporting to Americans.

00:06:21.980 Madam Chair, thank you so much for the opportunity to address this.

00:06:25.980 I know.

00:06:26.620 Is it up to you and NPR to crack down on bad information or decide the truth?

00:06:31.460 Answer the question.

00:06:32.200 Yes or no, Ms. Marr?

00:06:33.200 Absolutely not.

00:06:33.900 I'm a very strong believer in free speech.

00:06:35.680 And I believe that more speech.

00:06:36.740 Your public statements say otherwise.

00:06:39.580 During the COVID pandemic and the 2020 election, you said you censored information through conversations with government.

00:06:47.660 Which governments were those, Ms. Marr?

00:06:50.000 The Biden administration?

00:06:51.080 Yes or no?

00:06:51.660 Madam Chair, Wikipedia never censored any information.

00:06:54.600 These are your public statements, Ms. Marr.

00:06:56.680 Madam Chair, we are in full compliance with the FCC's inquiry and will continue to cooperate.

00:07:01.380 I remind you, you're under oath.

00:07:03.800 I'm assuming you're concerned, both of you are concerned about this and that's why you brought so many attorneys with you today.

00:07:08.820 First of all, I want to recognize your concerns.

00:07:11.320 One of the first things that I did in coming in in May was to beef up our editorial standards.

00:07:16.440 Why is NPR even doing editorials?

00:07:18.900 I'm so sorry.

00:07:20.260 Should NPR even do editorials?

00:07:20.780 Federally funded entity that's supposed to provide the news.

00:07:24.360 Can you not provide the news?

00:07:26.360 Of course.

00:07:26.700 Fair and balanced?

00:07:27.420 Of course, Congressman.

00:07:28.080 An article by Uri Berlinger, I've been at NPR for 25 years.

00:07:32.620 Here's how we lost America's trust.

00:07:34.580 Well, I do want to say that NPR acknowledges that we were mistaken and failing to cover the Hunter Biden laptop story more aggressively and sooner.

00:07:42.320 Our current editorial leadership.

00:07:43.860 Wuhan?

00:07:44.820 We recognize that we were reporting at the time, but we acknowledge that the new CIA evidence is worthy of coverage and have covered it.

00:07:51.080 You've even talked about the First Amendment kind of getting in the way of what you wanted to get done.

00:07:54.620 NPR is now taking this non-biased approach.

00:07:57.000 I so appreciate the opportunity to perhaps clarify some things.

00:08:00.800 My talk about truth was really referencing the way that people use truth to refer to belief as opposed to facts.

00:08:07.160 Your comments said that truth was getting the way of getting things done and that you were prioritizing what you wanted to get done over truth.

00:08:14.260 Did they come up in your job interview?

00:08:16.200 Like, do you see a problem?

00:08:18.380 Congressman, thank you for the question.

00:08:19.960 No, they never came up in my job interview.

00:08:22.540 You're a rabid progressive.

00:08:24.960 Like, do you not think it's a problem that your political leanings make it seem to the American people that you're not biased and you're not doing your job?

00:08:34.860 Because you agree that your job is to have journalistic integrity, right?

00:08:38.300 Absolutely.

00:08:38.700 But there is a strong firewall between the newsroom and anything that I do.

00:08:42.480 Let's talk about the newsroom.

00:08:43.300 You have 87 registered Democrats, not a single Republican in your editor board.

00:08:48.960 So, I mean, how does that work to give us the perception that you're doing your job of actually delivering unbiased information?

00:08:55.840 I would agree with you that that number is a concern if it is accurate.

00:08:58.820 I do believe that we need to have journalists who represent the full breadth of the American society so that we can report well for all Americans.

00:09:06.080 Well, I just got to stop it there.

00:09:07.780 This goes on for several more minutes.

00:09:09.540 But that part there at the end where he's like, you got 87 people on the editorial board.

00:09:13.180 They're all Democrats.

00:09:13.900 You don't have a single Republican.

00:09:15.260 And then she's like, yeah, if that number is true, then it is a concern.

00:09:19.760 Third, the argument of NPR is that the First Amendment requires for you and me to keep paying for them to propagandize and lie.

00:09:31.460 And I got to say, one of my favorite facts, as I said, it's not just NPR.

00:09:34.940 It's three Colorado radio stations, the statewide Colorado public radio station based in Denver, KSUT, which was originally founded by the Southern Ute Indian tribe.

00:09:49.660 And this is the one that cracks me up.

00:09:51.840 The Aspen Public Radio, which broadcasts in Aspen, one of the richest communities on planet Earth.

00:09:59.920 If you're in Aspen and you look at the airport, you just see a line of private jets as far as the eye can see.

00:10:08.480 And their argument is the First Amendment mandates that we tax American workers to pay for propaganda in Aspen because the poor, wretched masses of Aspen can't afford to pay for their own propaganda.

00:10:23.140 They need to tax American workers instead. 0.92

00:10:25.180 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.

00:10:31.700 Canadian women are looking for more, more out of themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders and the world around them. 0.97

00:10:38.600 And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.

00:10:42.320 I'm Jennifer Stewart.

00:10:43.500 And I'm Catherine Clark.

00:10:44.740 And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women.

00:10:48.500 Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians and newsmakers, all at different stages of their journey.

00:10:54.220 So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us.

00:10:57.220 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on iHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

00:11:01.700 Now on to story number two.

00:11:05.280 Senator, let's deal with California.

00:11:07.620 And there has been a fight since the president came in with his executive order on trying to protect women from men being in their locker rooms, being in their sports, beating them up.

00:11:19.720 We saw it during the Olympics in boxing.

00:11:22.240 We've seen countless women who their achievements have been taken away from them on the podium because of men claiming their women, which is impossible in reality.

00:11:32.540 And California decided they were going to stand up to Donald Trump.

00:11:35.780 And guess what?

00:11:36.440 It didn't go very well for them.

00:11:37.900 Well, listen, we've seen the Democrat Party getting more and more radical ever since Donald Trump took the oath of office back in 2017.

00:11:46.140 They hate Trump and they've gotten more and more extreme on a host of issues.

00:11:49.560 And one of the poster children for their extreme issues is embracing boys and girls sports, men and women's sports.

00:11:58.420 And it is wrong.

00:11:59.440 It is unfair.

00:12:00.760 It invites injury.

00:12:02.280 And it also deprives both girls and women of athletic victories they should have and they've earned.

00:12:10.840 There are differences between boys and girls.

00:12:13.100 There are differences between men and women.

00:12:14.720 That did not used to be a controversial proposition.

00:12:18.140 It is only in today's Looney Tune left that they can't tell the difference between men and women.

00:12:23.180 But I got to tell you, even though in the Senate, Senate Democrats, all of them continue to defend men and women's sports and boys and girls sports, we're seeing the state of California.

00:12:35.380 We're seeing the Democrats beginning to retreat.

00:12:38.340 We're seeing Gavin Newsom, the governor, who's been a far left radical governor.

00:12:42.840 He's got ambitions of being president.

00:12:44.740 He's looking at looking at running in 2028.

00:12:47.640 And he's decided, OK, we're on the wrong side of an 80-20 issue.

00:12:51.080 I want to get the hell away from this.

00:12:53.580 And so California announced this is a big deal.

00:12:56.540 They're changing their policy for track and field so that if you're a biological girl and you got you missed out on making it to the state championship because you were beaten by a biological male who claims to be a transgender woman, then the girl, you will still get your slot.

00:13:16.500 You still get invited to the state championship.

00:13:20.040 Look, that's a significant step in the right direction.

00:13:22.600 And Gavin Newsom is embracing it.

00:13:25.340 And I got to say, this really illustrates that at least some Democrats realize, wow, we are on the wrong side of an issue that America, America wants to protect girls sports and women's sports.

00:13:38.100 We want to protect our daughters and we don't want to see them hurt or competing unfairly.

00:13:45.340 And so the crazy thing is, that means in track and field in California now, they may give three gold medals, one to the boy, one to the girl and one to the transgender athlete.

00:13:56.840 You may have gold medals all around, but for bright blue California to make this concession, it shows that that at least some Democrats realize they are way on the wrong side of this issue.

00:14:09.660 This also, I think, is an issue that it's worth fighting for.

00:14:13.820 And I think many that are listening are saying we don't want to give in and we don't want to give up.

00:14:18.340 And the pendulum went so far to the radical left for so many years that this is the fight that is worth fighting on and fighting over and showing California having to change girls track and field championship rules after the Trump threatens funding over the trans athletes is just an example of, hey, we are in many times the silent majority.

00:14:39.480 And we need to start acting like it, especially on these types of issues.

00:14:44.440 Well, I'll tell you, Ben, this this issue is a powerful issue.

00:14:48.020 And as you know, I ran for reelection in Texas last year in 2024.

00:14:52.540 It was a quarter billion dollar race.

00:14:55.560 I was Chuck Schumer's number one target.

00:14:58.040 And my campaign was was was the first campaign in the country last year to put put real time and energy behind this this this issue of we're going to protect girls.

00:15:09.480 Sports from boys competing and and and we put tens of millions of dollars behind this issue.

00:15:14.580 Well, what's fascinating is the media completely misunderstood the issue.

00:15:19.260 So one of the things that that my campaign did is we did focus groups in Houston and Dallas of undecided moderate women to understand what issues move them.

00:15:28.320 And we tested 30, 35 different messages.

00:15:31.600 The number one issue that moved undecided moderate women in Texas was boys and girls sports. 0.86

00:15:38.760 And when I started campaigning on it, it was very funny.

00:15:42.260 The reporters are like, oh, Cruz is trying to appeal to the crazy right wing.

00:15:46.600 And I was just laughing at him.

00:15:48.160 I'm like, you guys are so clueless.

00:15:50.340 This is not the crazy right wing.

00:15:52.380 This is soccer moms. 1.00

00:15:53.560 This is soccer moms who love their daughters. 1.00

00:15:56.500 And we we led on this issue.

00:15:59.280 And then you saw Senate races all across the country pick up the same message because they were seeing the same data we were.

00:16:05.280 We saw President Trump lean in hard on this message.

00:16:08.360 Some of those women that you were talking to, let's be very clear, had moved from California because, yeah, like how many people from California moved to Texas? 0.97

00:16:18.020 We have over a thousand people a day moving to the state of Texas.

00:16:24.400 And California is overwhelmingly the heaviest, the largest state that is sending people to Texas.

00:16:31.560 But this issue, what's what's fascinating, Ben, is, you know, four years ago, this issue did not work politically.

00:16:38.660 You saw campaigns try to raise it four years ago.

00:16:40.740 And I think people thought then that it was jumping the shark, that it didn't feel real four years ago.

00:16:47.240 I think people said, oh, come on, that's that that's not a real threat.

00:16:50.560 Well, you know what?

00:16:51.500 We've now seen Leah Thomas, the swimmer who who is a biological man and looks like Michael friggin Phelps, who we've also seen.

00:17:03.760 And I think this was really a seminal moment in the Olympics, the two dudes competing in women's boxing and beating the hell out of women. 0.96

00:17:12.260 And I think a whole lot of people said, wait, this is not theoretical.

00:17:15.540 This is happening over and over and over again.

00:17:18.820 Enough is enough.

00:17:20.660 And I think this is another milestone that that California is retreating on this issue shows that that truth and sanity are winning.

00:17:30.540 Yeah. And now the question becomes, how much are they going to be able to fight back through the court system?

00:17:36.560 And is this going to be something that's going to be, unfortunately, an issue for probably years to come?

00:17:41.120 Well, look, we'll see.

00:17:42.720 And to be honest, California hasn't conceded altogether.

00:17:45.160 They're still having biological males compete against women, which is which is unfair.

00:17:50.300 It invites injury.

00:17:51.880 You know, if you're playing volleyball, we've seen women who have a biological man spike the ball into their head and they get injured. 1.00

00:17:58.440 I mean, California is still Looney Tunes, but the fact that even the lefty government of California is saying we've gone too far, that's a very positive sign.

00:18:10.860 As before, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation on this topic, you can go back and download the podcast from early this week to hear the entire thing.

00:18:19.100 Canadian women are looking for more, more out of themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders and the world around them. 0.97

00:18:26.300 And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.

00:18:30.020 I'm Jennifer Stewart.

00:18:31.200 And I'm Catherine Clark.

00:18:32.440 And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women.

00:18:36.200 Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians and newsmakers, all at different stages of their journey.

00:18:41.920 So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us.

00:18:44.920 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

00:18:50.900 I want to get back to the big story number three of the week you may have missed.

00:18:55.500 Unless the head of the FBI is calling for the murder of the president of the United States.

00:19:00.360 And that is another story that broke in the last few days.

00:19:03.120 So so the former FBI director, James Comey, he tweeted out this this image.

00:19:09.680 And it is an image of seashells on the beach that spell out 86, 47.

00:19:17.260 Now, 47 is obviously Donald Trump and and 86 on the face of it to 86.

00:19:25.000 Someone is standard slang for killing someone.

00:19:27.480 And as I posted on social media, is there any other reasonable interpretation of this other than the former head of the FBI publicly calling for the murder of the president of the United States?

00:19:41.560 And and Comey backed away from it.

00:19:43.760 I got to say, part of the reason I think he put it out is he's got a new book coming out and he wanted some attention.

00:19:48.460 But but but it is unimaginable that that that a head of the FBI would be particularly a president who has had two assassination attempts.

00:20:01.160 This this is not theoretical.

00:20:03.240 Donald Trump was shot.

00:20:04.980 He came within a half inch of being killed in Butler, Pennsylvania.

00:20:10.680 And yet the head of the FBI is openly calling for for people to 86 Donald Trump.

00:20:17.200 Well, and it's not only, as you mentioned, is it a dog whistle, but also, yeah, he had a book coming out.

00:20:23.500 He's like, hey, if I do this and maybe there's just narcissism and arrogance to a level that even I didn't realize with with him.

00:20:30.680 And I thought it was pretty high where he's like, I'm I'm I'm I'm so powerful.

00:20:35.720 I can get away with this.

00:20:37.000 And then everybody will want to interview me.

00:20:39.320 I get to dog whistle this against the president, while also guaranteeing that every single show will want to book me to talk about my book, a.k.a.

00:20:48.760 and also the seashells on the beach.

00:20:51.140 It was one hell of a move.

00:20:53.100 And I think it's one where he thought nothing's going to happen to me, even if I do get interviewed by the Secret Service.

00:20:58.340 Who cares?

00:20:59.080 Well, and I will say he doubled down this week by calling on the FBI essentially to fight the president of the United States and accusing the Trump administration of being, in his words, quite white supremacist adjacent.

00:21:18.300 Listen to this.

00:21:18.920 So follow up on the seashell situation, when you're explaining why you took it down, but what were you trying to communicate to the public?

00:21:29.900 Impeach Trump?

00:21:31.140 What was your reasoning for it?

00:21:33.340 No, I just thought it was a cool picture.

00:21:35.780 Someone was expressing a political view in a very clever way.

00:21:39.200 I mean, shells that were organized by the same color for each of the letters.

00:21:43.320 I just thought what a cool thing.

00:21:45.200 And I'm well known as a political opponent of Donald Trump.

00:21:47.800 And I just thought, well, that's cool.

00:21:49.680 My Instagram account is family politics stuff, including stuff like this.

00:21:54.580 I put a shell on last fall.

00:21:56.580 I thought it was cool someone had painted the inside of a big shell to say vote Kamala.

00:22:00.620 I thought, well, that's really cool.

00:22:01.700 So I put that on.

00:22:02.780 But so it's not any particular message other than that.

00:22:05.740 I was just going to ask you about the MSNBC interview you were doing.

00:22:09.000 Because on social media, everyone's saying he's talking about the white supremacist adjacent Republican Party.

00:22:16.340 Everybody in the party, voters, what's, you want to clarify?

00:22:20.600 I don't want to answer that one.

00:22:21.220 No, thank you.

00:22:22.140 No clarification at all?

00:22:23.560 No, I'm not going to comment on it.

00:22:24.600 Okay.

00:22:25.460 Be well.

00:22:26.160 Thank you.

00:22:26.680 Hello.

00:22:27.280 I love it.

00:22:28.200 Be well.

00:22:28.840 I'm not going to clarify on that.

00:22:30.100 I'm going to keep that out there as well.

00:22:31.800 Buy my book. 0.99

00:22:33.800 What utter garbage. 0.98

00:22:36.120 Oh, I just thought it was kind of interesting. 0.99

00:22:38.880 I just thought it was, you know, kind of pretty.

00:22:42.320 The seashells were pretty.

00:22:44.620 Like, what an absurd claim.

00:22:48.220 And there's something mocking about it that he could claim. 1.00

00:22:55.000 Okay, number one, James Comey is not a stupid man. 0.98

00:22:59.560 Yeah, he's smart. 0.99

00:23:00.500 He knows what he's doing.

00:23:01.620 He knows exactly what he is doing.

00:23:05.020 And James Comey, number one, he knows who 47 is.

00:23:10.000 He knows exactly who 47 is.

00:23:12.560 47 is the 47th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

00:23:17.520 Number two, the claim that he didn't know what 86 is.

00:23:23.920 Listen, that is absurd.

00:23:29.900 It is not remotely credible.

00:23:32.760 And the fact that he's saying that, the fact that he's saying that is mocking.

00:23:37.520 It is a level of contempt.

00:23:38.880 And listen, I got to say, I don't know Comey personally, but in my view, he is someone who was consumed by power.

00:23:51.580 When he was the head of the FBI, I think he had delusions of grandeur.

00:23:54.740 I think he believed he was J. Edgar Hoover, and he wanted to have presidents of the United States reporting to him.

00:24:01.480 By the way, do you happen to know off the top of your head what 18 U.S.C. Section 871 provides?

00:24:10.080 No, what is it?

00:24:11.320 What's funny, it's actually a felony.

00:24:13.980 Threatening the president of the United States is a felony that's punishable by up to five years in prison.

00:24:18.400 And you would think the head of the FBI would know that.

00:24:22.080 And yet he blithely said, oh, I just saw some pretty seashells.

00:24:25.740 You know, nothing to see here.

00:24:28.200 And let's just remind people, when you said that he's smart, this is the same guy that mocked the Trump administration the first time, right when they got into office,

00:24:38.280 when he just sent a couple FBI agents over to try to entrap General Flynn.

00:24:42.120 Like, never forget, that's how calculated this guy is. 0.97

00:24:44.780 So for him to say, oh, I just saw a picture here, and I thought it was really cute, and there's seashells, I don't buy that crap for a moment. 0.95

00:24:51.060 He proposed sending someone wearing a wire to entrap the president of the United States. 0.98

00:24:55.560 And I want you to listen to him with Nicole Wallace on MSNBC, because I want you to listen to just this smarmy, sanctimonious, dishonest. 0.85

00:25:06.380 You can tell what I think about him here.

00:25:07.740 Just play his words and see if you agree with me.

00:25:10.560 You are back in the middle of a political firestorm.

00:25:14.780 Yeah, for walking on the beach with my wife.

00:25:17.300 So, I don't know how we ended up here.

00:25:19.240 It never occurred to me that it was any kind of controversial thing, but that's the time we live in.

00:25:24.400 Okay.

00:25:25.700 Ben, there's a technical word for what he just said there.

00:25:28.600 That would be called a lie.

00:25:30.320 He is deliberately lying.

00:25:31.500 He knows he's lying.

00:25:32.940 He is not in trouble for walking on the beach with his wife.

00:25:35.860 He is understandably in trouble for publicly advocating the murder of the president of the United States.

00:25:41.440 And yet, there's a lot of people who think he knew exactly what he was doing.

00:25:45.000 And yeah, he may get hauled in for some questioning, but he's not going to get arrested because he's the former FBI director.

00:25:50.960 And that guy never gets in trouble, right?

00:25:53.020 Well, we shall see.

00:25:54.980 I will say Cash Patel and Dan Bongino are not your typical heads of the FBI.

00:26:00.080 As always, thank you for listening to Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.

00:26:05.660 Don't forget to download my podcast and you can listen to my podcast every other day.

00:26:09.320 You're not listening to Verdict or each day when you listen to Verdict afterwards.

00:26:12.580 I'd love to have you as a listener to, again, the Ben Ferguson podcast.

00:26:16.420 And we will see you back here on Monday morning.

00:26:19.900 This is an iHeart podcast.

00:26:22.800 Guaranteed human.

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Verdict with Ted Cruz - May 31, 2025

NPR Lawsuit Unpacked, the Fight for Women’s Sports plus Comey & a Message in the Sand Week In Review

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