NEW: “I Asked Ted Cruz to Help Free My Son Trevor Reed. He Did Nothing”

“Cruz would rather let a former U.S. Marine and defense contractor for the U.S. State Department die in a Russian dungeon than work with other Republicans and Democrats to bring him home.”

AUSTIN, Texas – In a new op-ed, Joey Reed, the father of wrongfully detained Marine veteran Trevor Reed, blasts Ted Cruz for doing nothing to help free his son.

“My family has lived in Texas for seven generations,” Joey writes. “I know what’s most important to us and I know the values we hold dear. We honor family and respect service. Cruz’s refusal to help a former U.S. Marine held by Russia was a slap in the face to both.”

The Texas Tribune has reported that Joey Reed has “praised members of both parties for helping free his son,” but has endorsed Colin Allred because “Ted Cruz is not here for Texas. Ted Cruz is here for Ted Cruz.”

Read Joey Reed’s full op-ed below:

Courier Texas: Joey Reed: I asked Ted Cruz to help free my son Trevor Reed. He did nothing.

By Joey Reed

• No one should have to endure what my son Trevor Reed, a Marine veteran, endured for years at the hands of the Russian government.

• In 2019, Trevor was wrongfully detained in Russia on false charges. He was sentenced to nine years in prison, the longest single sentence for that charge in modern Russian history, and held hostage in rat-infested spaces as small as a closet. He was placed in a psychiatric ward to coerce him to plead guilty, and later sent to a freezing labor camp.

• He was never allowed letters in English, only a few phone calls, and little medical care. During the 985 days he was detained, it was difficult to get even the most basic updates on Trevor’s condition — though multiple times, I was able to learn that his health was deteriorating. And though he never gave up, I feared that his body would fail before his will to fight did.

• I wanted to exhaust all possible options to free my son. The first elected official I contacted was Sen. Ted Cruz. I explained the situation, my son’s military history, the involvement of the Russian FSB, and asked for help.

• The response from Cruz’s office was, essentially, “We’re not going to be able to help you.” Later, after Sen. John Cornyn, Texas’ other senator, spoke to us and offered his assistance, we contacted Cruz’s office and again were told they could not help us.

• My family has lived in Texas for seven generations. I know what’s most important to us and I know the values we hold dear. We honor family and respect service. Cruz’s refusal to help a former U.S. Marine held by Russia was a slap in the face to both.

• Cruz serves on the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which deals with hostage/wrongful detainee issues. During the committee meeting when resolutions about Trevor and Paul Whelan were discussed, he had nothing to say. During that same meeting, Cruz had plenty to say about Iranian sanctions and Russian pipelines to Germany. US Reps. Michael McCaul and August Pfluger, both Texas Republicans, led the efforts to recognize Trevor as wrongfully detained, and were joined by Democrats like Rep. Colin Allred to urge the White House to take action.

• It has been years since I made the call to Cruz’s office and was told “No.” I’ve taken those years to process not only what Trevor went through, but how Cruz, whose job it is to serve Texans, could totally ignore my pleas for help, and refuse to change his mind over the years Trevor was detained. Only now do I think I have the answer.

• Cruz would rather let a former U.S. Marine and defense contractor for the U.S. State Department die in a Russian dungeon than work with other Republicans and Democrats to bring him home. It also was not an election year for Cruz.

• It can be hard to pressure the federal government, and certainly the president, to do much of anything. But it is the job of our elected officials to try. You work with the State Department, you make a few well-placed calls to high places. There are a wide variety of tools at their disposal. Tools used by people like Pfluger, a Republican that Trevor ultimately filmed a commercial for, or Allred, who worked hand in hand with him to help free my son.

• Members of both parties took the opportunity to help us. There were 57 bipartisan cosponsors for our House Resolution 186, including Allred, McCaul and Pfluger. Senate Resolution 67 had bipartisan cosponsors, including Sens. Marco Rubio and Dianne Feinstein — but no Ted Cruz.

• It’s my firm belief that while we need to hold our elected officials accountable, they too should be forces for accountability on our behalf. If the president is wrong, stand up to him, even if he’s in your own party. If the government is failing us as Texans, your role should be to make it work. Allred was not our member of Congress, but he joined scores of Republicans in calling to free Trevor. That’s why Allred has my vote in this year’s Senate race.

• I am not a partisan person. I have supported Republicans and Democrats. But when we needed him most, Cruz did nothing to help free Trevor. While my son languished in a Russian prison, Cruz was only looking out for himself.

• And while Republicans and Democrats from across the country pressured both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden to bring Trevor home, we will never forget how Cruz didn’t lift a finger to help us.

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