Ted Cruz Is Facing Heat for His Podcast

The senator says he isn’t paid for his podcast, but the donations to a PAC from the company that distributes it raised some eyebrows.

Ted Cruz
Sen. Ted Cruz hosts a podcast called “Verdict With Ted Cruz.”
LM Otero/AP

Ted Cruz’s podcast has landed him with an ethics complaint.

Cruz has said he isn’t paid for his “Verdict With Ted Cruz” podcast, which comes out three times a week. However, iHeartMedia, the corporate media firm that distributes the podcast has given over $630,000 to the Truth and Courage PAC, a group dedicated to Cruz’s reelection campaign.

Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit focused on money in politics, filed a complaint on Wednesday with the Senate Ethics Committee alleging that the senator’s podcast deal with iHeartMedia violates ethics rules. It followed complaints the group and End Citizens United filed earlier this month with the FEC — putting him under increasing pressure to explain how and whether he’s being compensated for a podcast he hosts as a sitting U.S. senator.