Ad money from Ted Cruz podcast flows to super PAC focused on his reelection
WASHINGTON — A super PAC focused on getting U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz reelected has received hundreds of thousands of dollars tied to advertising revenue from Cruz’s “Verdict” podcast, an unusual campaign finance arrangement that raises legal questions.
Public scrutiny of the payments could prompt advertisers to follow BP America Inc.’s lead and redirect their business to avoid indirectly supporting the Texas Republican’s effort to win a third six-year term.
Contacted by The
Dallas Morning News, BP America, based in Cruz’s hometown of Houston, said it was unaware that ad revenue from the podcast was flowing to a pro-cruz organization.
“We purchase advertising on iheart based on the potential audience and do not specify by podcasts,” BP America spokesperson Ross Parman said. “We were never informed that media spend was going directly to a super PAC and have instructed iheart to remove our messages from any podcasts that direct advertising revenue to campaigns, PACS or political parties.”
Since March 2023, the pro-cruz Truth and Courage PAC has received a series of increasingly larger payments from iheartmedia Management Services Inc. that total more than $630,000.
Rachel Nelson, spokesperson for iheart subsidiary Premiere Networks, said in a statement that Cruz volunteers his time to host the podcast and isn’t compensated for it.
Nelson said Premiere sells advertising time for “Verdict,” as it does for other podcasts, and the money being directed to the Truth and Courage PAC is “associated with those advertising sales.”
Nelson referred additional questions to the PAC, which does not provide contact information on its website. A committee campaign finance filing includes an email address, but inquiries sent to it were not answered.
The PAC has supported various Republican candidates in the past, including former Dallas Cowboys running back Herschel Walker in his failed 2022 bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia.
Its website is now dominated by photos and press releases boosting Cruz and attacking his opponent in the November election, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-dallas.
“Truth and Courage PAC’S focus is ensuring that Ted Cruz is re-elected to the United States Senate in 2024,” according to the site.
In response to questions about the podcast and the financial arrangements surrounding it, the Cruz campaign provided a written statement characterizing all of the attention as “lazy attacks” by news outlets and Democrats in an election year.
“Senator Cruz appears on Verdict three times a week for free. He does this to pull back the veil on the corrupt inner workings of Washington — none of which ever get fairly covered,” according to the statement. “How convenient that the mainstream media and the cogs in the machine of the Biden-pelosi Democrat Party want this to stop.”
The campaign did not say who decided podcast advertising revenue should be directed to the PAC.
The podcast started during former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial in early 2020, with Cruz offering his take on those proceedings and sharing behind-thescenes observations.
It was a hit and has continued to attract a significant audience for Cruz’s conservative perspective, sprinkled with occasional sports banter and pop culture references.
The senator announced the move to iheart in
2022, saying at the time that it was a “big damn deal” to partner with the No. 1 syndicator of U.S. radio programing. He credited the network with helping make the career of conservative giant Rush Limbaugh.
Recent “Verdict” episodes have included advertisements for large companies with wellknown brands: BP, Safeway, Consumer Cellular, Carvana, Lexus and Ubereats among them.
One recent advertisement on the podcast was paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The ad urges people to check if they are eligible for income-based subsidies for Medicare prescription drug coverage after that program was expanded as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Cruz opposed that legislation and has strongly criticized it on his podcast.
His “Verdict” co-host
Ben Ferguson typically reads promotional material during the podcast touting companies such as Patriot Mobile and Blackout
Coffee.
Blackout Coffee promotes itself as an “anti-woke” coffee brand, while Grapevine-based Patriot Mobile says it is “America’s only Christian conservative wireless provider.”
Patriot Mobile has worked through a political action committee to promote conservative causes and support like-minded candidates in Tarrant County suburban school board races.
“Verdict” episodes have been posted with accompanying video at times on Youtube, although the most recent episode on the channel this week was a couple of months old.
In addition to the money from iheart, campaign finance reports for Truth and Courage also show digital revenue payments — albeit in the relatively small amount of about $4,000 total — from Google, which owns Youtube.
Cruz has a ubiquitous media presence. In addition to the podcast, he appears often on cable news and posts frequently on social media.
He has written several books, which he promotes across his platforms.
His most recent financial disclosure statement includes a 2022 agreement with Regnery Publishing for a two-book deal with a $1.1 million advance, payable in four installments.
When Cruz announced iheart’s involvement with the podcast, it quickly attracted criticism and raised questions about whether such a partnership was allowed.
The Campaign Legal Center wrote to the Senate Ethics Committee in late 2022 urging an investigation into the arrangement.
The group noted the millions iheart spends on lobbying, including on issues that fall within the jurisdiction of the Senate Commerce Committee, where Cruz is the top Republican.
The CLC said iheart agreeing to bankroll the podcast appeared to violate the letter and the spirit of laws that restrict lobbyist gifts to senators.
The Ethics Committee disagreed, saying by letter that it had reviewed the matter and determined
Cruz “did not violate federal law, Senate rules or standards of conduct.”
The stream of payments from iheart to the super PAC raises fresh questions and could prompt a look by the Federal Election Commission.