In justifying the emergency nature of the FEC request last month, attorneys for the National Republican Senatorial Committee and National Republican Congressional Committee cited the alarming spike in security threats connected to the Jan. Cruz was inside the Senate chamber when that attack began, objecting to Electoral College votes, and used the event to raise campaign funds. 6 assault on the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.
The Harvard Law graduate was among the first and most ardent peddlers of former President Trump's baseless claims of election fraud, a leading voice in a broader narrative that led directly to the Jan. The vast majority of these payments came after the 2020 general election, which Cruz predicted could be a "bloodbath" for Republicans. In addition to home security, Cruz's campaign also spent more than $15,000 in the last four months on what it characterizes in filings as "security equipment installation": $11,000 to Houston-based Automation Media Professionals, and $4,000 to Solar X Window Film Systems, also in Houston, for "tear and penetration-resistant" protective window film designed to hold "glass fragments together in the event of an accident, break-in or violent storm." Cruz and his family live in Houston, which also hosts his southeast Texas office. for "personnel service/equipment," according to FEC filings. The Atlas Glinn website features a photo of Cruz accompanied by what appears to be a security team. In the three months from October to December, the campaign paid the firm a total of $46,000, according to federal records. While candidates can and do expense electronic security systems for their homes, the FEC has not ruled on whether the exemption extends to bodyguards.Ī handful of candidates, including Cruz, appear to have gone ahead without FEC guidance. In October 2020, the senator's campaign organization, Ted Cruz for Senate, started paying the Houston security firm Atlas Glinn Inc.
Salon reported earlier this month that in the wake of the Capitol insurrection, the two Republican national congressional committees filed a joint advisory ruling request asking the FEC to allow lawmakers to fund personal protection details with campaign donations, but the issue is unsettled.
Last year, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo triggered an internal investigation for a similar alleged misuse of taxpayer funds, such as paying an aide to walk his dog. But the way the senator chose to pay for that help may attract the attention of the Federal Election Commission, which has not sanctioned the use of campaign funds for personal security.Ĭruz appears to have tapped into both campaign funds and his taxpayer-backed Senate allowance for security expenses, some of them related to travel. The FEC bars candidates and elected officials from using political contributions for their own personal use, and Cruz may have violated this rule if he used donations to pay for a security guard for his Houston home or at other times outside his capacities as a candidate or officeholder. It would also appear to be a violation of the personal use prohibition if Cruz dipped into his campaign account to pay the guard to do household chores, such as caring for Snowflake. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, bailed out for the balmy climes of Cancún while the worst winter storm in recent memory stranded millions of his constituents without power, he hired a security guard to watch his home and care for his poodle, Snowflake.
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