Why is Ted Cruz so melodramatic? No, really. Is that how he orders at a fast food place or sit-down restaurant… in a voice that sounds like he’s about to cry?
At a Tuesday hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he lost it on a top official from the FBI, Paul Abbate, who’s a deputy director. Cruz asked a series of questions about materials held by the FBI that allegedly outline allegations of a bribery scheme involving the Bidens. It is extremely in line with longstanding precedent for officials like Abbate to not comment publicly on investigative matters, but Cruz deceptively tried to spin it into a massively big deal.
“Senator, I would add also that we’ve worked with the House Oversight Committee to provide the document,” the FBI official tried to tell Cruz. Cruz sounded far more interested in putting on a show. Does he know that he’s not a character in a theater performance? “I’m not going to comment on any investigative matters, Senator,” the official subsequently added. Cruz, predictably, was incensed.
“See, that’s the problem!” he hollered. “The FBI, and I’ve had this conversation with Chris Wray too. This is why you are damaging the institution. The American people have a right to know whether there is serious, credible evidence that the president of the United States took a $5 million bribe… If Chairman Durbin were interested in the rule of law, we would have a hearing on these allegations, but of course, the Democrats don’t want a hearing on these allegations… The FBI is stonewalling.”
“No one’s stonewalling,” Abbate explained to the Senator. “The 1023 was provided in response to a subpoena of the House Oversight Committee. The pertinent information is there, and I reject your assertion that the FBI is politicized.” The “1023” refers to the form that outlines those bribery claims. In response, Cruz kept yelling about the same thing. He asked Abbate if the FBI would provide the form outlining those allegations about the Bidens to the Judiciary Committee, and Abbate answered that the agency would be willing to work within the parameters of whatever established process was relevant, exactly as they did with the GOP-led House Oversight panel. Cruz accused him of not answering the question, which was not accurate.
The bribery allegations themselves make no sense, because they’ve been connected to Biden’s push as vice president against a then-top prosecutor in Ukraine. It was established policy in the U.S. and elsewhere to oppose that prosecutor. Watch Cruz’s breakdown below:
