Ted Cruz's presidential campaign has asked Iowa radio stations to stop airing attack ads that label him a "hypocrite."
America's Renewable Future, a bipartisan political group that supports ethanol mandates, is responsible for the radio ads that claim the Texas senator "supports Big Oil instead of Iowa farmers." The Cruz campaign argues that the ads' content is demonstrably inaccurate.
"It is blatantly false to suggest that Sen. Cruz wants to end the Renewable Fuel Standard while maintaining subsidies for oil," said Rick Tyler, a Cruz spokesman, in a statement. "Cruz has repeatedly stated that he would end all energy specific subsidies, both ethanol and oil among others."
Eric S. Brown, Cruz's general counsel, sent a letter reminding the radio stations of their "legal responsibility" as an FCC licensee to "avoid deliberate misrepresentations and intentional libel."