The Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Chairman Richard Burr, will be performing investigations to determine whether or not Cruz's comments contained classified information. They will attempt to learn if any media outlets previously reported this data, which would allow them to determine whether it is public or classified. However, because Cruz is not a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, there are some doubts over the validity of his comments. Senator Burr has stated that "...to my understanding this subject matter was not one where any members outside the committee had been briefed on it" (The Hill), and so it is unclear if what Cruz said is even true.
What do you think?
If it turns out that this information was classified, what consequences will Cruz face? Will Cruz be forced to drop his bid for the Republican nomination? Or will he gain even more support for being so transparent?
Sources:
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/did-ted-cruz-reveal-classified-information-gop-debate-n481076
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/263443-burr-investigating-if-cruz-discussed-classified-information-during-debate
19 comments:
As soon as I heard Rubio say that Cruz had released classified information, I knew Cruz was going to face major problems. Depending on how sensitive that information was, Cruz could seriously face major problems. I was looking up the levels of classified information, and saw there were a few levels. There are:
Core secret; Top Secret, Secret, Confidential, and Public Trust and then just unclassified (WhiteHouse.Gov).
Long story short, the most likely type of information Cruz revealed was Secret. Secret information is desrcibed as "The second-highest classification. Information is classified Secret when its unauthorized disclosure would cause "serious damage" to national security. Most information that is classified is held at the secret sensitivity" (Whitehouse). If Cruz released more sensitive information, then he could be facing a jury even for treason, as many other people who have released classified information have in the past.
If it is sensitive information, then I think some more anti-establishment Republicans may support him, but many may find his classified information being revealed as a dangerous move when dealing with ISIS.
However, as a major skeptic, I think Rubio may have just said that to make Cruz look bad. But who knows until the investigation is over.
http://listverse.com/2013/06/27/10-people-who-blew-the-whistle-on-the-us-government/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-classified-national-security-information
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classified_information_in_the_United_States
If the information that Cruz revealed is in fact classified, then there will undoubtedly be many consequences for him. Like Olivia said, Rubio is more knowledgeable about what information is alright to reveal in a debate and what information is classified, but even so, Cruz should exercise his discretion. Though a fact might have "wow" factor, it may not be right, appropriate, or legal to divulge it during a debate. Undoubtedly, Cruz will face consequences, but I'm not sure that he will drop out of the race unless it ends up looking really bad for him. Though we watched the movie about presidential race slip-ups, the American public has been largely very tolerant of things that would have totally knocked someone out of the game in the past. That said, the simple fact that this investigation is going on might have excluded Cruz in previous years but if he is found to be innocent, it is most likely that nothing will happen. I think it's unlikely, though, that Cruz will gain support as a result of this alleged slip up. Maybe, if he were a masterful orator, he could twist his words to be positive, anti-establishment, tell-it-like-it-is politics, but unfortunately he just does not have those kinds of skills; so, at best this incident won't affect his ratings either way.
Cruz's comment raises lots of questions for his future, as well as the future of debates. If the information turns out to be true and classified, then how did Cruz learn them? As Olivia suggested, did Rubio simply make his retort to make Cruz look bad and get him in trouble?
The information Cruz has made public will inevitably be swept under the rug and forgotten in a couple weeks. I don't think Cruz should face any punishment, his race is the only punishment needed. However, Marco Rubio is right. Under no circumstance should a candidate or politician use classified information as leverage against opponents, whether it be support for rhetoric or defamation. It is unprofessional too, a politician needs to remove politics from processes that are vital to this country's security. Him even mentioning that shows how desperate he is, or at least how stupid he is. Most Republicans value security, in fact that is what Cruz was trying to appeal to. But Ted Cruz just shot himself in the foot, by being transparent about a matter that is inherently about security and secrecy. Cruz won't have to drop out of the race, but if he continues to play the game like he has, there won't be a campaign to run the race.
This is certainly an ironic turn of events! For all the outrage in the Republican Party over Hillary's email scandal, it is certainly embarrassing that potential front-runner Ted Cruz disclosed more in a night than could be found in the Hillary Clinton email investigation. It is inconceivable that a senator should release classified information, especially on live television when he is supposed to show how trustworthy he is! As a big Cruz hater, I am hoping this scrutiny brings him down in the polls a little; brash comments and hard-line neoconservativism is a recipe for disaster. Like Sarah said, he is trying to "tell it like it is," but he is just coming off as unprofessional and rude. I certainly do not want the president of the most powerful country in the world to have loose lips and an attitude like an elementary-schooler's, even if he is a step-up from Trump. Unfortunately, knowing the state of the current election, this scandal will only make Cruz even more popular among the less informed and the impressionable of this country.
I am not sure if the information that he released is classified information, and even so, it is information that we should be aware of anyways. It is information that does not hurt us, it makes us more knowledgeable of how National Security is being implemented. I do not think that a percentage of the coverage of the phone call tapping is truly a breach of classified information. I do not think that this will hurt Cruz in any way, especially because Hillary Clinton has not lost support and she was using classified information on an unsecured server that could effect our security. Her breach of international security made us vulnerable to foreign governments, whereas this information just gives a percentage of how many phones are being covered.
I have no clue whether the information that Cruz shared is confidential or not. But, if after investigation, proves to be classified information, I think he will have a scandal on his hands. Politicians make mistakes all the time, but since they are in the public eye, they must deal with them in a manner that proves to the people that they are trustworthy again. Cruz will have a hard time proving that he is trustworthy enough to lead the country if he cannot even keep information private during a debate. We cannot have a president who leaks our information in a time of possible war; this would wreck our national security.
As athenaz mentioned, this would turn into a similar situation to Hillary Clinton's email scandal. She has had to consistently reassure the public that she can be trusted and responsible enough to lead the nation. If Cruz's information was in fact meant to be confidential, I do not believe he will be forced out of the Republican race, but he will have a lot of work to do in regaining his position.
There is some serious bias in the comments here and a lot refusing to look at the facts. We aren't even sure if the information is classified or not people, let's all take a chill pill and relax. As many are, my feelings towards cruz and many of the other gop candidates are limited and I don't believe many of them stand a chance in primaries anyway as they are irrelevents. That being said, if this information is indeed classified I think it would do some damage to Cruz's campaign. As we have seen with Hillary's email scandal it is very unlikely that Cruz will be brought up on charges and not allowed to run, but the harm to his reputation will be irreversible and possibly fatal.
Well, I guess I might as well jump on the bandwagon here. I will say this however, innocent until proven guilty. As of now, there is no solid evidence as to whether what Ted Cruz said was classified. However, being the general public, no one could actually confirm that what he said was not classified unless the numbers he mentioned were already put forth by a previous broadcast of some sort. Either way, I believe this is disastrous for Ted Cruz. It is hard whether Marco Rubio was simply looking to make a statement or actually telling Cruz to cut the mic. Part of me feels as if, if the information was indeed highly classified, Rubio would not simply go and acknowledge the information in front of 15 million people by affirming that it was indeed classified. Rather I'd like to think Rubio would try to run away from the subject as quickly as possible. I think that it's only fair that only fair that Cruz faces the due process of law and is investigated for his comments. If Cruz can't keep it zipped in a simple debate, how can we rely on him to be Commander and Chief of the most powerful nation on the planet? I doubt his support will go up for releasing possible government secrets.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/16/politics/ted-cruz-richard-burr-classified/index.html?eref=rss_politics
I'm going to have to back up my good friend Steve Irwin (JS) on this one. Our class often demonstrates a significant liberal bias (which is OK sometimes) and this potential slip-up by Cruz is, in my opinion, not directly comparable with Hillary's email scandal. The information put forth by Cruz last night seems pretty harmless. We now know that 100% of cellphones are being probed for terrorist activity. Okay, that's fine. Hillary, however, was emailing top secret information on her own private server, which as Athena asserted, ostensibly put us at risk from foreign governments. Also, Hillary is still the leader in the Democratic polls following the breaking of a scandal that would have ended campaigns in previous elections. An innocuous comment from Cruz isn't going to hurt his support if Hillary can withstand the exhaustive Benghazi/email probes. Regardless, an interesting aspect of this Cruz case is that Richard Burr (R-NC), the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was watching "The Voice" finale during the debate and, after hearing of the possible leak in info, ordered some of his people look into it. This raises the question: were any of the 15 million people referenced as viewers by Rubio government employees? Does anyone in government even watch the debates? Who knows. This campaign is a wild one.
It is evident that in today's media-ridden society, nothing can go without notice. Especially in a Presidential Debate. I, first and foremost, believe that Ted Cruz is not in any position to take the presidency; regardless of his exposition that leaked possibly classified information during the debate. If it is indeed true that Cruz was in possession of, and leaked, classified information, he should face a punishment worthy of the crime. Apart from the fact that I do not have faith in your average Senator to withhold highly classified information, I believe that Mr. Cruz may not be limited in his incidents of letting his mouth slip if we keep on giving him the opportunities to do so. This in mind, I don't think Cruz will be forced to drop his bid, despite my own hopes. In terms of his transparency, I can't see how this even t could possibly affect him in a positive way; who wants a President that can't even keep a secret? The only effect of this incident has certainly been a hindrance to his public image. Keeping that all in mind however, if it turns out that Cruz was not leaking classified information, I think that the condemnation should fall upon Rubio for making an unjustified fool out of his competition. Realistically however, with all we have seen in the Republican race, it seems as if no candidate withholds any shame anyway. If anyone loses out, it's going to be Cruz.
Source:
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/did-ted-cruz-reveal-classified-information-gop-debate-n481076
I completely agree with Steve Irwin's(JS)comments because everyone jumps to conclusion when they hear something that could potential alter the way people think of something. In this situation, people were so quick to pull the trigger on accusing Ted Cruz of releasing classified information after Marco Rubio exclaimed that it was classified information. Yet, just like what KingPash said, "innocent until proven guilty" implies in this case since no one has actual evidence that supports Marco Rubio's claim, that Ted Cruz shouldn't be blamed for what he said. However, if something comes up that does in fact support Rubio, then Ted Cruz should be kicked out of the race as well as his position as Senator. Many of the secrets that the government holds from the general public could be kept a secret for a very good reason. Some of the secrets may be too much for the public to handle that if it leaked, the public could potentially a public uproar which could turn violent. Someone who can't keep a secret, shouldn't be allowed to become the leader of a nation.
In a situation like this I firmly believe that is is ultimately up to the candidate to deal with the situation in the manner of his choosing. It is easy to jump to the conclusion and assume Ted Cruz's presidency is completely ruined (even though it probably is) but history tells that despite a bump in the road, candidacies have been able to overcome them and eventually triumph. For example, when Bill Clinton was caught cheating with another woman, all signs pointed to a failed presidential candidacy. However when his wife Hillary announced that she would continue to stand by his side the American people were back on the bandwagon supporting him. And as we all know he eventually became president. However, this is highly unlikely due to the mass media of this day and age. Not only this but to essentially restart his candidacy and regain trust in the people once again, it will take time and certainly large amounts of campaign money to succesffuly run and keep his name high in the polls. Ted Cruz is at a great disadvantage. The American people want a president they can trust, and the GOP debate on tuesday night was certainly telling that Ted Cruz would be unable to provide that for this country. I believe that it will only be a matter of time before Cruz gives up his run however we should not be so quick to come to conclusions. There is always room for a candidate to bounce back and always room for the Ammerican people to change their minds.
First and foremost if Ted Cruz did indeed release classified information, this is unacceptable and must be addressed. However, I agree with Caroline, we cannot jump to conclusions about this truth. As we studied in class little things like this can ruin a campaign, but it is really how the candidate handles the scandal that decided there fate. Looking at candidates who used the quick response tactic, we can see that there was generally less damage to the campaign when the problem was immediately addressed. Therefore, I think Cruz should use this strategy in order for him to have the best change at nomination. However, If he did indeed release classified information action must be taken. I agree with Brendan when he says that our class tends to take a liberal stance, so although the slew of comments above are all anti Cruz, we have to consider the other side of things. There is a likely chance that he did not do anything wrong. Therefore, this rumor, or insinuation cannot be used to slander his campaign. I want to wait and get all of the facts before making any decisions on his character.
I agree completely with Katie. If Cruz did indeed release classified information for the sake of bettering himself rather than protect this country, I believe that people need to take a long hard look at Cruz's campaign and personality to really see who he is voting for. However, if that is not the case, than this is all just speculation about a single talking point that Cruz made that has no real impact. Cruz's spokesperson obviously stated that the "classified" information that Cruz released was already widely documented, but that is coming from a heavily biased source, so it is hard to take that into account. All-in-all, even if this information was not directly marked as classified information, Cruz should have realized the magnitude of the information that he is speaking in front of tens of millions of people, and millions more after the fact.
If this does turn out to be detrimental to the United States ability to counter terrorism, then Cruz will have to face some serious penalties most likely, more than just the probable ending of his candidacy. I don't think with the mass negative media attention that this has been generating that Cruz will gain ranks in the polls because of this.
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/did-ted-cruz-reveal-classified-information-gop-debate-n481076
At the time, there is no way to tell if the information that Cruz released was true, let alone classified. If it was in fact classified, there is still not much that could be done to reprimand Cruz because he is not a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and therefore has no obligation to keep information he comes across as classified. There is a likelihood that Marco Rubio only seemed appalled by Cruz's slip up in order to make him look bad; right now the public knows nothing regarding the legitimacy of these claims. I do not believe that by stating this statistic Cruz did anything wrong per say, or that he should be looked at in a negative light because of it, but i am aware that many disagree with me. Either this controversial slip up can be overlooked and left untouched for the remainder of the campaign, or this issue could explode, leaving Cruz to deal with massive cleanup. I agree with what Caroline said; the way that Cruz handles this issue from here on out could say a lot about how the rest of his campaign goes. We can only hope that he does what is necessary to resolve this issue and not provoke too many democrats by arguing his case any further.
I agree with the comment Katie made above. When I heard that comment on television, I shared Marco Rubio's reaction that those comments pertained to sensitive government information, and had no place on a nationally aired debate. It was a slip of the tongue, but the American people need a leader who will not be liable to make such mistakes in office. However, I think it will not "make or break" his campaign, as its just one comment in one debate. Rubio, additionally, could have made that comment to bolster his ratings against a key competitor in Cruz.
However, this whole situation certainly doesn't help Cruz in a taut Republican race. Personality and the silver tongue, as it often does, will have an imperative role on who the GOP selects as their candidate. With these comments, Cruz will meet some adverse results in the polls, and will have conceded a major debate to Trump, who made the headlines for his childish exchange with Jeb Bush. Bush, on the otherhand, came off as weak and accusatory. The crowded field and the sheer amount of coverage could mitigate any negative consequences Cruz receives from these comments, but he needs to be more sharp with his words from now on.
If Cruz's comments do in fact reveal classified information, he will take a lot of scrutiny from the media and the public, just as Bill Clinton was scrutinized for his infamous sex scandal and just as how his wife Hillary got into trouble with the media for not understanding the difference between a personal email and a professional email. But as Stephen said, one simple side comment he made in a debate isn't going to "make or break his career. If we know anything about the media when it comes to politics, it's that they will try to blow this WAY out of proportion. But even so, something like this is not big enough to destroy a man's political campaign. Odds are that Cruz didn't steal classified information from the Senate Intelligence Committee but just read it somewhere and decided to discuss it in the debate. This whole thing may just amount to nothing more than confusion between classified information and public information.
I agree with Steve Irwin on this one. We are not sure if Cruz's comment is even true, yet the media hypes the issue up to have its viewers intrigued. Reading the comments on this blog, the media has clearly succeeded in its goals. Even if this information is secret, it seems like a fairly obvious statement that most people had already assumed was true. Cruz may face issues on a legal standpoint for this, but I think the main problems he will have to deal with are the scrutiny from the media and people's perception of him. This is not an easy thing to fix, especially with the media constantly searching for comments to blow out of proportion. I doubt this will become anything significant and hopefully people will overcome their initial reactions to this issue.
Post a Comment