Ted Cruz seeks 3-month extension for filing report that may include details of podcast deal

As interest builds in the controversial agreement U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz struck with San Antonio-based radio group iHeartMedia to distribute his podcast, the Texas Republican has asked to delay making a federal filing likely to shine light on the deal.  

Cruz on Tuesday sought a three month extension to file his U.S. Senate Financial Disclosures for the 2023 calendar year, which are due May 15. The extension gives him until Aug. 13 to file the document, which would detail his official financial transactions from Jan. 1 through Dec. 30 of last year.

A pair of campaign finance watchdogs earlier this month filed a complaint asking federal regulators to investigate a deal between Cruz and iHeartMedia for distribution of his The Verdict With Ted Cruz podcast. While Cruz has said he makes no money from the deal, the media company has flowed some $630,000 in ad revenue into a super PAC that lists its key goal as "ensuring that Ted Cruz is re-elected to the United States Senate in 2024."

The complaint by nonprofit groups Campaign Legal Center and End Citizens United argues the arrangement between Cruz and the company violates federal law since federal candidates can't "solicit, receive, direct, transfer, or spend funds" on behalf of super PACs. They questioned how iHeartMedia and Cruz could have arrived at the ad revenue deal if he or someone close to him hadn't negotiated the payments.

While Cruz announced his syndication deal with iHeartMedia in fall of 2022, his financial disclosure statement for that deal included no mention of the transaction. Federal campaign records show iHeartMedia's contributions to Truth and Courage super PAC began in the first quarter of 2023, suggesting it's likely the deal was finalized early last year.

Neither Cruz nor iHeartMedia responded to the Current's inquiries about the deal and the extension the senator filed for his financial disclosures.

Senators regularly request to push back the filing dates for their financial disclosures, according to experts, and Cruz has filed for an extension every year since 2015. The Senate Ethics Committee must approve the delays, but does so routinely.

Even so, the extension this year is noteworthy because of the scrutiny swirling around the iHeartMedia deal.

"It's not uncommon to see Senators asking for a couple weeks' extension or a month," said Brett Kappel, a Washington, D.C., attorney who's represented lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on campaign finance issues. "It's another thing to ask for the maximum extension and push back to August."

While an August filing of the records comes closer to the November election date, Kappel added that some senators consider that a safe time to file because the Senate is out of session and reporters covering Washington politics are often on vacation.

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