Topline
A super PAC affiliated with Sen. Ted Cruz reported receiving $215,000 in “digital revenue” from iHeartMedia on March 20—despite a spokesperson for the Republican from Texas previously denying there was an ethical issue with the company producing his podcast and saying it was no different from Cruz appearing on a cable news show.
After iHeartMedia began producing Sen. Ted Cruz’s podcast in 2022, a spokesperson for the senator ... [+]
Key Facts
In a March 20 filing with the Federal Election Commission, the Truth and Courage PAC, which is dedicated to “supporting Ted Cruz’s reelection to the U.S. Senate,” reported receiving $214,752.98 from iHeartMedia Management Services in February.
Rachel Nelson, vice president of public relations at iHeartMedia subsidiary Premiere Networks, told Forbes that Cruz volunteers his time and is not paid, but the company sells the advertising inventory for the podcast and the revenue the super PAC reported is “associated with those advertising sales.”
In 2022—shortly after Cruz and iHeartMedia entered a partnership in which the company markets and produces his podcast, “Verdict”—the Campaign Legal Center watchdog group filed a complaint against Cruz and asked the Senate ethics committee to investigate whether the deal violated a federal law barring senators from receiving gifts from registered lobbyists.
iHeartMedia has reported spending about $50 million lobbying members of Congress since 2003, trying to influence legislation around topics including data privacy, radio ownership and the Communications Decency Act.
A Cruz spokesperson denied that the senator violated the ethics law, though, telling Forbes at the time that Cruz “receives no financial benefit from Verdict” and that there was no difference between his podcast airing on iHeartMedia or him appearing on network television.
When asked by a local station, ABC13, about the payments from iHeartMedia on April 3, Cruz became frustrated and said the Senate Ethics Committee had already determined there was no issue—though it investigated with podcast deal alone, not the money iHeartMedia gave to Cruz’s PAC—and said “it really is sad, what’s happened to the media,” saying it now exists to “parrot left-wing Democrat attacks.”
Key Background
Cruz’s podcast, which was launched in 2020, was picked up by iHeartMedia in October 2022. Cruz’s then-co-host, Michael Knowles of the Daily Wire, announced it on an episode, saying: “iHeart can fund the whole thing, fund production, dump a whole bunch of money into marketing.” The deal also increased production from one time a week to three times a week and had iHeartMedia air the show on some of its 850 radio stations. The CLC, which filed its complaint over the deal in November 2022, said by entering into a syndication deal Cruz was accepting a gift from a registered lobbyist, which senators are prohibited from doing. The Senate ethics rules prohibit senators from “knowingly accept(ing) a gift from a registered lobbyist” or from collecting honorarium for an “appearance, speech, or article.” The CLC said iHeartMedia had spent more than $3.5 million in lobbying efforts in 2022, including on at least two bills that went before Cruz’s committee, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
What To Watch For
Whether the new filing will reignite the CLC’s complaint. Brendan Quinn, senior communications manager for campaign finance and ethics issues for the Center, told Forbes the ethics committee informed them last February it determined Cruz did not violate federal law and intends no further action.
Tangent
As of March 20, Cruz’s podcast was ranked at No. 43 on Spotify’s news podcast chart and No. 31 on Apple’s news podcast chart.
Further Reading
