Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) grilled U.S. officials on whether the FBI had any involvement in the Jan. 6th attack on the Capitol by pro-Trump rioters.
During a U.S. Senate hearing, in which national security officials from the Department of Justice testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the threat of domestic terrorism, Cruz pushed a theory that has been made prominent by Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Cruz’s line of questioning comes days after he very publicly walked back having called some Jan. 6 rioters, particularly those who attacked police officers, “terrorists.”
Carlson, who has promoted the unfounded theory that federal officials helped to fuel the Jan. 6 riot in a three-part series called Patriot Purge, grilled Cruz about his labeling of Jan. 6 rioters “terrorists” last week, during an exchange in which Cruz profusely apologized.
“The way I phrased things yesterday, it was sloppy and it was frankly dumb,” Cruz said to Carlson, who hit back, “I don’t buy that. I’ve known you a long time since before you went to Senate. You were a Supreme Court contender. You take words as seriously as any man who has ever served in the Senate.”
Carlson correctly pointed out that Cruz had repeatedly used the term “terrorist” to describe the Jan. 6 rioters.
On Tuesday, however, Cruz asked a series of questions, including, “How many FBI agents or confidential informants actively participated in the events of Jan. 6?”
Jill Sanborn, the executive assistant
Cruz interrupted, asking, “Did any FBI agents or confidential informants actively participate in the events of Jan. 6? Yes or no?”
Sandborn responded, “I can’t answer that.”
Cruz continued, “Did any FBI agents or confidential informants commit crimes of violence on Jan. 6?”
Sandborn again responded, “I can’t answer that.”
“Did any FBI agents or confidential informants actively encourage or incite crimes of violence on Jan. 6?”
Sandborn responded, “I can’t answer that.”
Cruz went on to ask:
Who is Ray Epps? There are a lot of people who are understandably very concerned about Mr. Epps. On the night of January 5th, 2021, Epps wandered around the crowd that had gathered and there is video out there of him chanting ‘tomorrow, we need to get into the Capitol.’ This behavior was so strange the crowd began chanting, ‘Fed, Fed, Fed, Fed, Fed, Fed, Fed.’ Ms. Sanborn, was Ray Epps a Fed?”
Sandborn again responded, “I can’t answer that question.”
Epps, a former Marine living in Arizona, has become a focal point of conspiracy theories regarding federal involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The New York Times reported last week that to date, “no evidence has emerged linking Mr. Epps to the F.B.I. or any other government agency.”
It is worth noting that the U.S. Justice Department at the time of the Jan. 6th riot was under the purview of Attorney General Bill Barr serving then President Donald Trump.
Cruz concluded his questioning, summing up the issue, “Did federal agents or those in service of federal agents actively encourage violent conduct on Jan. 6?”
“Not to my knowledge, sir,” concluded Sanborn.
Watch above via CSPAN.