Federal Election Commission clears Ted Cruz in complaint over controversial podcast deal

A controversial deal to distribute U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s podcast that’s pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into a super PAC supporting his reelection doesn’t violate campaign finance laws, federal regulators ruled.

In a 5-1 decision last FridayTK, the Federal Election Commission threw out complaints from a pair of watchdog groups alleging the Texas Republican broke the law by directing San Antonio-based radio conglomerate iHeartMedia to donate to the Truth and Courage PAC in exchange for distribution rights to his Verdict With Ted Cruz podcast.

Under law, super PACs such as Truth and Courage can raise unlimited amounts of cash to back federal candidates and accept direct corporate donations. However, federal candidates can’t “solicit, receive, direct, transfer, or spend funds” on behalf of super PACs.

Campaign finance experts described the deal using terms such as “unusual” and “unprecedented.” The watchdog groups that brought the complaint — Campaign Legal Center and End Citizens United — said the arrangement made it appear that Cruz directed iHeartMedia to flow syndication money into Truth and Courage.

However, the FEC, which is evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, wrote in its decision that there was “no available information” indicating Cruz directly solicited the money.

“Cruz’s role was limited to hosting the podcast and he does not appear to have been involved with the decision for iHeart to pay the PAC, meaning that he did not direct or solicit any funds,” the ruling states.

The FEC notified Campaign Legal Center and End Citizens United of its decision earlier this week, according to the Texas Tribune.

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This article appears in Feb 19-25, 2025.