Did Ted Cruz Leak Classified Info on Live TV Last Night?

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


According to AP reporter Erica Werner, Sen. Richard Burr, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is “looking into possibility Cruz released classified info during last night’s debate.” Exciting! So what was it that Cruz said? Here’s a replay:

CRUZ: Well, you know, I would note that Marco knows what he’s saying isn’t true…What he knows is that the old program covered 20 percent to 30 percent of phone numbers to search for terrorists. The new program covers nearly 100 percent. That gives us greater ability to stop acts of terrorism, and he knows that that’s the case.

Is this classified info? Inquiring minds can’t wait to find out.

UPDATE: Hmmm. Marcy Wheeler says, “Story here is NOT that Cruz leaked classified info. Burr let Rubio leak classified info, but now wants to go after Cruz for rebutting.” The plot thickens…

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate