Ted Cruz Warns Abdul El-Sayed Senate Win Would Endanger U.S. Troops, Spies

In a new episode of his podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz, Senator Ted Cruz argued that if Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan's Senate seat, he would gain access to classified intelligence with no separate vetting. Cruz warned that this would put American troops and intelligence operatives overseas at risk.

Cruz called the issue "a real and acute national security risk" in a race he concedes is close. "The polls coming out of Michigan show the race roughly tied," he said. El-Sayed faces former Republican Representative Mike Rogers.

Cruz built the case on allegations that El-Sayed has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed denies having any.

Ted Cruz's Classified-Access Argument

"There is no separate security clearance for a senator. The fact of getting elected to the United States Senate gives you clearance," Cruz said. He argued that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York could place El-Sayed on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

"I believe if Abdul El-Sayed is elected and if he is appointed to committees like the Senate Intelligence Committee or the Senate Armed Services Committee that have access to classified information, that poses an acute risk that US servicemen and women will be killed" — Ted Cruz

Cruz said the episode would not rely on "a whole lot of adjectives," but he went on to call El-Sayed "a radical Marxist Islamist." The case Cruz laid out on the show did not include any instance of El-Sayed leaking or mishandling classified information; his warning concerns what he believes El-Sayed might do in the future.

Co-host Ben Ferguson asked who decides committee seats. "Chuck Schumer has unilateral authority. He can place any Democrat senator on any committee he wants," Cruz answered.

How Senate Committee Assignments Actually Work

On the first point, Cruz is right. Senators and representatives do not need security clearances. Cruz read language on the show saying that "By tradition and practice," officials who hold positions prescribed by the Constitution "are deemed to meet the standards of trustworthiness for eligibility for access to classified information." Cruz noted on the show that a member's access still depends largely on committee jurisdiction.

The claim of "unilateral authority" goes further than the rules allow. According to a Congressional Research Service report, Senate Democrats rely on a Steering and Outreach Committee to recommend assignments to standing, special and select committees. Those picks need the full Democratic caucus's approval, and the full Senate then adopts them in a resolution. That process covers Armed Services.

The Intelligence Committee comes closest to Cruz's description. Under the 1976 resolution that created the panel, the Senate Manual shows each party leader appoints his own party's at-large members. Seats reserved for members of the Appropriations, Armed Services, Foreign Relations and Judiciary committees are filled by the president pro tempore, based on recommendations from the majority and minority leaders. Schumer would have a direct say over an at-large Intelligence seat, but his own caucus and the Senate would decide an Armed Services seat.

El-Sayed Denies Muslim Brotherhood Ties

Cruz pointed to 2012 and 2013 social media posts he attributed to El-Sayed's sister, including one saying the family "has long been" connected to the Brotherhood. He also cited a 2011 op-ed El-Sayed wrote and a 2012 letter signed by "Dr. Abdul Rahman El-Sayed of New York," whom Cruz identified as the candidate. And he cited donations from El-Sayed's father-in-law to a super PAC backing El-Sayed. These are Cruz's allegations as he presented them on the show, and El-Sayed denies any Brotherhood ties.

On NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, Kristen Welker asked El-Sayed about Rogers' accusations and whether he or his family have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed said Rogers raised the issue only "because he really wanted to repeat the word Muslim," and he answered "No" when asked about ties for himself and his family, Jewish Insider reported. Welker did not put the sister's posts or the other items Cruz cites to El-Sayed, which Cruz and Ferguson criticized at length on the show.

Rogers made a similar claim on Aug. 5: that El-Sayed "pledged his support to the Muslim Brotherhood." A Bridge Michigan fact-check found no evidence for it. Bridge Michigan said El-Sayed's 2011 op-ed urged U.S. support for a political revolution in Egypt while downplaying concerns that supporting democracy there might hand the country to the Muslim Brotherhood, but that he has "never pledged support to the organization itself."

Where the Michigan Senate Race Stands

El-Sayed leads Rogers 48.7 percent to 45.3 percent in PolitiKool's polling average, a margin of 3.4 points. Cruz said some polls show El-Sayed ahead and others show him slightly behind. A Quantus poll found El-Sayed ahead 48 percent to 47 percent among likely voters, Political Wire reported.