Sen. Ted Cruz Addresses Evidence on Obama’s Alleged Role in Russian Hoax

On Wednesday, during an appearance on FNC’s “Ingraham Angle,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) discussed recent evidence released by the Director of National Intelligence concerning former President Barack Obama’s supposed involvement in the so-called Russian hoax. Cruz claimed this evidence indicates that the Obama administration aimed to undermine democracy.

Ingraham inquired of Cruz, “Senator, are you going to see people take responsibility here?”

Cruz responded, “I really hope so. I genuinely hope the Department of Justice will carry out a thorough investigation. What’s crucial about what Tarsi Gabbard publicly stated is that people had already filed allegations suggesting Putin wanted Trump to win. This implies they were aware of their deception—and they were lying. That’s what makes this situation so explosive. Their repeated testimonies to Congress were false. You’ll find some facts in Tarsi’s statements. For instance, on August 31, 2016, DHS officials informed former DNI James Clapper that there were no indicators of Russia attempting to manipulate the actual vote counts.”

“Then, on September 2, 2016, the FBI expressed concerns about Russia possibly trying to disrupt our election. And by September 9, the Intelligence community concluded that it was unlikely Russia employed cyber means to influence the elections. This was echoed again on September 12. Later, on December 7, after the election, Clapper’s Talking Points indicated that foreign entities hadn’t altered the election results through cyberattacks on election infrastructure.”

“In fact, President Obama’s daily briefing on December 8 reiterated that Russia had not influenced the election outcomes through malicious cyber-activities. Remarkably, until December 8, there wasn’t the constant refrain of ‘Russia, Russia, Russia.’ But then, on December 9, a meeting took place with DNI Director Clapper, National Security Adviser Susan Rice, Secretary of State John Kelly, and Deputy FBI Director McCabe, and they completely shifted their narrative. Suddenly, it was all about Russia and how that supposedly led to Trump’s election.”

Cruz likened their abrupt change of stance to a historical reference, saying, “FDR called December 7, 1941, an infamous date. Well, December 9 became the moment when senior officials decided to mislead the American public and President Trump, who had just been elected by the people.”

Ingraham pointed out a past CNN interview from 2018 where former DNI chief Clapper made a statement about Obama. She played a video clip where Clapper said, “Without President Obama, the intelligence community might not have evaluated the intelligence news community for launching a series of events that are still unfolding today.”

Ingraham added that while Clapper didn’t admit everything was incorrect, he did place responsibility on Obama. She noted how the intelligence assessments were always changing and never reached a definitive conclusion. “Even what Obama mentioned yesterday is still a lie; the evidence didn’t indicate it was Russia,” she claimed.

Cruz echoed this, stating, “They just wiped out everything they had been asserting for months and switched directions completely.”

Ingraham pointed out that when Obama spoke of Russia, it didn’t match what the intelligence community rated. Cruz remarked on Obama’s partisanship, mentioning figures like John Brennan, who he claimed had a history of extreme views, even having voted for a Communist candidate back in 1976. “It’s quite a leap to think that someone who desired a Communist president would not have radical beliefs,” he said.

Looking back at the Russian hoax, Cruz suggested it was aimed at harming democracy, driven by discontent over Donald Trump’s election. He stated, “They seemed outraged that voters chose Trump.” Ingraham prompted, “They want to punish them.”

Cruz responded, “Exactly. This reflects the same mindset that led to the charges against Trump last year. It wasn’t simply about detesting Trump; it was more about targeting those voters. Their willingness to mislead Congress and the public reveals a broader contempt for the electorate.”