Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz criticized the FBI on Wednesday for failing to answer his questions about whether the bureau played a role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
He spoke on his podcast, “Verdict with Ted Cruz,” about the Capitol riot footage released by Fox News Host and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson on his podcast. Cruz discussed the FBI’s potential role in the Capitol riot and allegations that Ray Epps, a prominent Capitol rioter, was an informant for the bureau. (RELATED: Ted Cruz Says Merrick Garland Has ‘Contempt For The American People’)
The American people deserve to know the precise level of culpability the federal government bears for January 6.
Yet the Biden DOJ and FBI remain dug in and are adamantly opposed to any accountability!
The FBI could answer this question… #Verdict https://t.co/9TbnXQMPPB
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 8, 2023
“And I asked them about how many undercover agents they had at the protest on January 6. They refuse to answer. How many of them — did any of them engage in acts of violence? They refuse to answer did any of them encourage or incite others to engage in acts of violence? They refuse to answer if you look at Ray Epps, his behavior at the time, where he’s urging people, ‘We must go into the Capitol, not just to the Capitol, we want to go into the Capitol.’ It’s really quite remarkable,” Cruz said.
“And so the question on January 6, one of the most important questions, is to what extent did federal law enforcement insight and entrap people into criminal violations. And the fact that Tucker has aired what appears to be video contradicting Ray Epps’s testimony, that raises serious questions,” Cruz continued.
Cruz believes the Biden administration should be fully transparent about the Capitol riot, a tragedy Democrats compare to 9/11 and Pearl Harbor. “If they are going to maintain that’s the case, the American people deserve to know what actually happened that day and they need deserve to know what the precise level of culpability the federal government bears in the criminal conduct on that day. And yet the Biden DOJ and the Biden FBI remain dug in and adamantly opposed to any accountability the FBI could answer this question.”
Carlson was given previously unreleased footage by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in February and broadcasted portions of the footage on Monday night. He suggested the new footage upended Democrats’ claims about the Capitol riot being an insurrection against American democracy.
Carlson’s commentary was criticized by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republican Senators, who disputed his characterization of the riot. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, called for Fox News to take Carlson off the air after he released the footage.