The Federal Election Commission has dismissed a complaint that alleged iHeartMedia made nearly $1 million in podcast-related contributions to a super PAC supporting Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) violated federal campaign finance laws.
The complaint, filed by watchdog groups End Citizens United and the Campaign Legal Center, claimed that Cruz’s involvement in discussions about iHeartMedia’s acquisition of his podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz, suggested he played a role in directing $961,435 in payments generated from podcast advertising to the Truth and Courage PAC. The money was dispersed throughout 2024.
Under federal law, candidates themselves can only solicit up to $5,000 for super PACs, which can otherwise raise unlimited funds to support campaigns.
The FEC’s 5-1 decision determined that there was no evidence Cruz solicited or directed the payments. The FEC found that Cruz’s role was limited to hosting the podcast and concluded that there was no evidence he influenced how iHeartMedia allocated its payments to the PAC. The agency also cleared Truth and Courage PAC of allegations regarding inaccurate campaign contribution reporting due to the incident.
The ruling stated, “We are aware of no information indicating that iHeart made the payments to influence a federal election, or for any reason beyond a bona fide commercial arrangement that would have required the PAC to disclose the payments as ‘contributions’ instead of ‘other federal receipts.’”
Verdict has been distributed by iHeartPodcasts since 2022, two years after Cruz launched the show.
The incident did have the side effect of leading BP America to direct that iHeartMedia remove its ads from any podcasts that allocate ad revenue to political campaigns, PACs, or parties. At the time, a BP America spokesperson said that the company was unaware its media spend was being funneled to a super PAC, adding, “We purchase advertising on iHeart based on the potential audience, and do not specify by podcasts.”
