https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1770996133910712753.html?utm_campaign=topunroll
Woah. Ted Cruz’s Super PAC just reported receiving $214,752.98 from iHeartMedia in February in a new FEC filing.
iHeartMedia is a registered lobbyist—they also host and market his podcast.
Two years ago Cruz’s office said:
“Senator Cruz receives no financial benefit from Verdict.There is no difference between Sen. Cruz appearing on a network television show, a cable news show or a podcast airing on iHeartMedia.”
Ted Cruz’s Podcast Deal With iHeartMedia May Violate Ethics Laws, Watchdog Says In New ComplaintiHeartMedia, a registered lobbyist, is providing Cruz's podcast with production and marketing assistance. It also will air Verdict with Ted Cruz on some of its terrestrial radio stations.https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2022/12/01/ted-cruzs-podcast-deal-with-iheartmedia-may-violate-ethics-laws-watchdog-says-in-new-complaint/?sh=799625f24fa3
Also—after filming his podcast in an iHeart studio for years, he mysteriously stopped filming them a month ago.
The same month his PAC gets a couple hundred thousand dollars from them?
The Senate ethics rules prohibit senators from “knowingly accepting a gift from a registered lobbyist” or from collecting honorarium for an “appearance, speech, or article.”
iHeartMedia has spent $915,000 lobbying Congress last quarter.