NEW: BP America Pulls Ads from Cruz’s Podcast Amid Mounting “Legal Questions”
AUSTIN, Texas – Ted Cruz’s podcast scandal is escalating, after BP America announced it will pull all advertising from the podcast due to the fact that “ad revenue from the podcast was flowing to a pro-Cruz organization.”
According to a new report in the Dallas Morning News, “Public scrutiny of the payments could prompt advertisers to follow BP America Inc.’s lead and redirect their business to avoid indirectly supporting the Texas Republican’s effort to win a third six-year term.”
Dallas Morning News: Ad money from Sen. Ted Cruz podcast flows to super PAC focused on his reelection
By Joseph Morton
A super PAC focused on getting U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz reelected has received hundreds of thousands of dollars tied to advertising revenue from Cruz’s “Verdict” podcast, an unusual campaign finance arrangement that raises legal questions.
Public scrutiny of the payments could prompt advertisers to follow BP America Inc.’s lead and redirect their business to avoid indirectly supporting the Texas Republican’s effort to win a third six-year term.
Contacted by The Dallas Morning News, BP America, based in Cruz’s hometown of Houston, said it was unaware that ad revenue from the podcast was flowing to a pro-Cruz organization.
“We purchase advertising on iHeart based on the potential audience and do not specify by podcasts,” BP America spokesperson Ross Parman said. “We were never informed that media spend was going directly to a super PAC and have instructed iHeart to remove our messages from any podcasts that direct advertising revenue to campaigns, PACs or political parties.”
Since March 2023, the pro-Cruz Truth and Courage PAC has received a series of increasingly larger payments from iHeartMedia Management Services Inc. that total more than $630,000.
The stream of payments from iHeart to the super PAC raises fresh questions and could prompt a look by the Federal Election Commission.
“It kind of strains credulity that this is an arm’s length agreement in which Sen. Cruz has no personal involvement,” [campaign finance lawyer Brett] Kappel said.
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