Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) On Senate Impeachment Trial: If POTUS Wants Republican Witnesses We Should Call Them

Earlier today Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) phoned into the Guy Benson Show on Fox News Radio. Cruz weighed in on his dust-up with Chuck Todd, blasted Eric Holder as a ?terrible Attorney General? who did ?damage? to the DOJ (re Holder op/ed), & said if POTUS wants witnesses like Hunter Biden at Senate trial, GOP should call them.
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Full Transcript:
Guy Benson:?I’m Guy Benson in Washington, D.C. We are live on the Guy Benson Show. Thank you for being here. Just a reminder on these Fox News alerts. A lot of news happening today. The House Judiciary Committee is currently debating impeachment articles against President Trump. It’s been going on for hours, partisan bickering. I frankly, cannot bring myself to watch it. We know all the relevant facts. This is just. Wrangling. And it will culminate in a vote today out of this committee and it will be party line and they will advance the articles of impeachment to the full House. That is what we know to be ninety-nine point nine percent the case. Then we have these reports of a tentative trade deal between the Trump administration and the Chinese. Sort of it’s in principle we don’t have any other details, but the markets are up around 200 points on that news. And then another piece of backdrop to all of this across the pond. The Brits are voting right now with polls closing in about an hour and a half over in the U.K. in their second general election since Brexit. So a lot of moving parts. And we are very excited on that note to welcome into the program for the first time. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. Senator, good to have you here.
Sen.Cruz:?Guy, great to be with you. Thanks for having me.
Guy Benson:?You bet. So let’s start with this. I know the news cycle moves so fast that Sunday already feels like ancient history, but I could not help but draw attention once again to this soundbite. This was you on Meet the Press with Chuck Todd. Just a quick example of a but cut 35.
Sound Clip:?Do you believe Ukraine meddled in the American election in 2016? I do, and I think there’s considerable evidence, You do.
Guy Benson:?The NBC chief anchor, his eyes get wide. He seems astonished that you would say that you believe Ukraine, at least on some level, medaled in 2016 like you’re a conspiracy nut case. And I just I’m really having trouble with this one, Senator, because it actually is frightening when it feels like we aren’t even operating off of the same common set of facts sometimes.
Sen.Cruz: Yeah. Well, it is unfortunately a manifestation of the times. I think that interview got pretty wild and wooly. And part of it is I look, I’ve been on Chuck Todd show many times. He knows how to be a fair journalist. But I think you’re seeing journalists across the country right now really panicking. And then they’ve gone all in in support of Democrats and impeachment. And I think the House Democrats case for impeachment is falling apart. It’s falling apart in the House and their media defenders are panicking. And so when it comes to Ukraine, look, there is number one considerable evidence on the face of it of corruption in Ukraine, in particular dealing with high Hunter Biden being paid eighty three thousand dollars a month from Brisama, the largest natural gas company in Ukraine. While his father was a sitting vice president while his father was intervening, was was what was bragging about about blocking foreign aid to Ukraine unless they fired the prosecutor who who was potentially investigating the company on whose board. Hunter Biden sat that that’s serious evidence of corruption when it when it comes to interference in the 2016 election, that there is significant evidence of that. You have no one. The sitting ambassador from Ukraine wrote a public op-ed blasting Donald Trump. They pushed it out through the Ukrainian through it through their official press releases. That is highly unusual guy. Typically, ambassadors from foreign countries don’t engage in American elections, don’t support one candidate over the other. The ambassador publicly did so. So did the sitting interior minister from Ukraine blasted Donald Trump. So did the former prime minister from Ukraine, blasted Donald Trump to parliamentarians in Ukraine, held a press release about press conference where they accuse the Ukrainian government agency of violating Ukrainian law in an attempt to intervene in the 2016 election. And the thing that’s remarkable, this goes right to your point, guy. The press knows all of this. Chuck Todd knows all of this. This has been reported in The New York Times. It’s been reported in Politico. It’s been reported the Financial Times that reported The Economist. These are all facts. And yet what’s happened is the press has decided. Number one, intervening in support of Hillary Clinton is OK because they agree with that position. But number two. It is inconvenient for their political narrative to sit to to acknowledge that anyone other than Russia interfered in the election, of course. Yes, Russia interfered, interfered significantly, and it’s a real problem. But Russia is not the only country that did. But the press is functioning as the criterion guard defending Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler and their impeachment narrative rather than being willing to actually discuss real facts.
Guy Benson: Yeah. And look, one of the points that I made on the show earlier in the week is there was that Politico report that came out in 2017 talking about the dissemination of documents, a meeting with a DNC contractor at the Ukrainian embassy. The oppo research, you know, it’s they want to pretend like none of that exists and that you’re talking crazy by even suggesting, look, there’s one thing to say, Russia’s interference was far more centrally directed and more pernicious and much worse. That is different than saying.
Sen.Cruz: Which is undoubtedly true.
Guy Benson:?Yes, of course. But but then they’re taking it a step farther, at least in the case here, of Chuck Todd pretending like there’s no evidence to back up your assertion. And again, I think that is frustrating and worrisome to look at.
Guy Benson:?I want to change gears.
Sen.Cruz: And it just briefly on that point. It’s not journalism, it’s it’s propaganda. And actually following Chuck Todd’s performance. We had The Washington Post who basically called me a Russian asset. We have. John Harwood from CNBC, who pretends to be a journalist, but is really just a hard, hard, bitter partisan who likewise said that that I was simply spreading Russian propaganda. And none of them are willing to actually engage in real facts like like that Politico story you pointed out was a major story in Politico written by journalists named Ken Vogel who is a reporter for The New York Times. And they literally call you a Russian asset if you repeat any of the facts reported on in that political story that, it’s like George Orwell and they just change history. We’re not at war with Eurasia. We’ve never been at war with Eurasia. They’ve changed their narrative. And anyone who dares say anything different, they must attack.
Guy Benson:?I would point out that John Harwood was a moderator for a Republican debate in 2016 that you were a part of on the presidency side. And that’s just something to consider for a moment and ponder. Eric Holder, the former attorney general under President Obama, has put out an op-ed saying that Bill Barr, who has that job now under President Trump, is unfit for that job. What is your reaction to that from Mr. Holder?
Sen.Cruz: So I haven’t read Holder’s op-ed, but it strikes me as comical, number one. Holder, I think was was a terrible attorney general. I think he did a lot of damage to the Department of Justice. I think he was he was he played a key role in politicizing DOJ. And it’s particularly ironic for Holder to say that today, following yesterday’s hearing with the inspector general or the inspector general outlined in incredible detail how profoundly corrupted the Department of Justice and FBI was, the abuse of powers that including a lawyer at the FBI who fraudulently doctored evidence that ended up being submitted to the federal court to get a wiretap on an adviser to the Trump campaign for Holder to be. Listen. I think Holder’s scared, and I think the political cronies who abused the Department of Justice and law enforcement and intelligence under Obama are really scared now that they’re going to.
Guy Benson:?About a possible reckoning.
Sen.Cruz: There and they’re attacking.
Guy Benson: Senator. Last question. We have about a minute left. There have been some reports that Senator McConnell and the Republicans when this goes to the Senate, the impeachment, that is all there is gonna be a quick trial. No witnesses, just sort of get this thing done. What do you think of that strategy? Are those reports true based on what you’ve heard?
Sen.Cruz:?I think there are still discussions and debates about it. My personal view is the House conducted a partisan show trial. They denied due process. They didn’t allow the president to cross-examine witnesses. They didn’t allow Republicans to call witnesses. I think the Senate needs to do better. We need to respect due process. We need a fair proceeding. That means we need to let both sides present their case. And if the president wants to call witnesses, that the president wants to call Hunter Biden or the whistleblower, the Senate should allow the president call witnesses in his defense well we are going to see what happens in the Judiciary Committee on the other end of Capitol Hill. The House, they’ll be voting within the next few hours. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. Our guest on the program. Senator, thank you so much for your time.
Sen.Cruz:?Appreciate it. Take care.
Guy Benson: Likewise, we’re gonna take a break, we’re gonna come back Juan Williams joins me next. It’s the Guy Benson Show.