Senator no longer checking whether Ted Cruz released classified information at debate

The line of questioning was prompted by an exchange over immigration Cruz had with Sen.

Baier grilled the 2016 GOP presidential candidate on confusing claims he made while sparring with opponent Sen. Marco Rubio traded fire over the merits of the metadata collection program at the debate. Baier pressed the senator who, in turn, suggested his support for the amendment did not necessarily mean he’d have supported the so-called “Gang of Eight” bill had it actually passed. “I have never supported legalization and I do not intend to support legalization”.

“Special Report” host Bret Baier played a 2013 clip of Cruz introducing an amendment that would have stripped out a proposal for a pathway to citizenship from the gang of eight’s so-called “amnesty” bill.

In addition, Burr admitted that he hadn’t watched the debate at all, so he wouldn’t have been able to catch Cruz’s mistake in the act.

“Well, you know, I would note that Marco knows what he’s saying isn’t true”. I oppose legalization for illegal aliens.

The Associated Press reported that Cruz’s campaign said Wednesday the statistics the senator described related to NSA’s surveillance capabilities that had already been publicly reported and mentioned during Congressional testimony.

“The fact that I introduced an amendment to remove part of the Gang of Eight bill doesn’t mean I support the rest of the Gang of Eight bill”, he said.

Cruz added that his amendment was aimed at highlighting the “hypocrisy” of others, contending it revealed lawmakers were only interested in granting citizenship to those in the country illegally. “There was a battle over amnesty and some chose, like Senator Rubio to stand with Barack Obama and Chuck Schumer and support a massive amnesty plan”, said the Texan, who voted against the legislation. “This would not only destroy the path to citizenship in the Senate bill – the popular heart of an immigration reform solution – but also turn its back on one hundred years of precedent in immigration policy”.

If we want Republicans to take over the White House in 2016, it is imperative that we elect a candidate that doesn’t back down on immigration reform.

RUBIO: Dana, may I interject here?

Marcy Wheeler, an independent journalist who focuses on national security and civil liberties and who broke the story that Rubio leaked classified information, told the INDY that what Cruz said would be classified as a leak “if [Cruz] got briefed on it”.

Cruz is likely to face plenty of pushback from the Republican establishment in the coming weeks and months, but on this issue, he appears to be in the clear. Cruz recently surged to first place in the Iowa caucuses and second nationally, and Rubio has typically polled in the top three nationally.