What did Ted Cruz say? Leaked audio controversy explained as Republican Senator denounces tape

American politician Ted Cruz slammed MSNBC host Ari Melber after he aired an audio recording of the former where he planned to "secretly" block Joe Biden's 2020 presidential win. During an episode of The Beat on April 25, 43-year-old Melber aired an audio clip of a conversation between the 52-year-old politician and Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that happened on January 2, 2021.

Cruz, who opposed Biden's presidential victory during a joint session of Congress that started on January 6, 2021, discussed intentions to organize a panel to examine false allegations that major fraud was to blame for former President Donald Trump's election defeat. He said:

"I think that the country deserves to have a credible assessment of these claims and what the evidence shows. And the mechanism to try to force that is denying certification on [January] 6th."

Another clip that Ari Melber aired during his show featured Bartiromo asking Ted Cruz who would be "deciding who gets inaugurated" as president. To this, he responded that the planned committee would have the last word. He said:

"It would be the results of the commission and what they find. And if they found credible evidence of fraud, that undermines confidence in the electoral results in any given state, they would report on that."

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Ted Cruz was not happy with the leaked audio clips

After Ari Melber aired the leaked audio tapes during his segment, Ted Cruz slammed the Emmy-winning journalist stating he made these comments during an interview with Bartiromo the next day while remarking on Joe Biden's win on January 6, 2021.

Taking to his Twitter handle, he called Melber an "MSNBC clown" (via an emoji) and retweeted his clip.

As per Newsweek, Ted Cruz did make similar comments during his interview with Bartiromo, which was published on January 3, 2021, on Fox News' website.

"We ought to have a serious, fair process and tribunal to consider these claims. We can do it in 10 days, before the inauguration. If there's evidence of fraud, and it's substantial and significant enough to affect the results in a particular state. Then those election results would have to be set aside."

In a press release issued on January 2, 2021, Cruz, along with other Republican senators, proposed to form a commission to "conduct an emergency 10-day audit of the election returns in the disputed states."

"Once completed, individual states would evaluate the Commission's findings and could convene a special legislative session to certify a change in their vote, if needed."

He also made a similar plea while questioning Joe Biden's presidential win on January 6, stating that they needed a "credible" commission to review the evidence presented to them.

“It can’t just be, you know, somebody tweeted this. the same day the election was called for Joe Biden by all major networks. It’s got to be demonstrable facts that can be laid out with evidence because that’s what a court of law is going to look to—not just an allegation but actual fact.”

This is not the first time that The Beat has aired a leaked conversation between Ted Cruz and Bartiromo from November 7, 2020, where they discussed the importance of inviting guests on air with facts that support their allegations of fraudulent voters.

As of this article's writing, Ari Melber has not responded to the claims raised by Ted Cruz about the leaked "secret" conversation between him and Maria Bartiromo.