Fact check: False claim that video shows Ted Cruz presenting new Jan. 6 information
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The claim: Video shows Ted Cruz presenting new facts uncovered by the Jan. 6 committee
Some social media users are sharing a video they say shows Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, presenting new facts uncovered by the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The attack followed a rally in which then-President Donald Trump claimed the recent election of Joe Biden to the Oval Office was fraudulent and that the election had been "stolen."
"Nancy Pelosi speechless as Ted Cruz expose's (sic) new facts that have come out from Jan 6 Committee," reads the caption of an Aug. 9 Facebook post featuring the video.
The video was viewed 12,000 times in two days.
However, the caption is inaccurate.
The video does not show Cruz presenting Jan. 6 committee information. Instead, it shows unrelated footage of the Republican senator.
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USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the claim for comment.
Video shows Cruz discussing Ukraine war and immigration policy, not Jan. 6
The video in the social media post is composed of two clips.
The first clip shows a March 2, 2022, press briefing in which Cruz blamed the Biden administration for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The second clip shows the senator questioning U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about U.S. immigration policy. The footage was captured during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Nov. 16, 2021.
At no point in either clip does Cruz mention the Jan. 6 attack or the congressional committee investigating it.
Cruz has referred to the Jan. 6 committee hearings as "political theater" and is not a member of the House committee.
Fact check: False claim that video shows Ted Cruz confronting FBI about Mar-a-Lago
The claim has been debunked by Reuters.
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a video shows Cruz presenting new facts uncovered by the Jan 6. committee. The video shows clips in which Cruz discusses the war in Ukraine and U.S. immigration policy. Cruz does not mention the Jan. 6 attack or congressional committee investigating it.
Our fact-check sources:
U.S. House of Representatives, accessed Aug. 19, Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol
USA TODAY, Jan. 13, 2021, DC updates: 4 dead, 52 arrested, 14 police officers injured after pro-Trump rioters breach US Capitol; FBI opens investigation
NPR, Feb. 10, 2021, Read Trump's Jan. 6 speech, a key part of impeachment trial
Reuters, Aug. 15, Fact Check-Baseless claims attributed to Ted Cruz about Jan. 6 feature unrelated videos
C-SPAN, Nov. 16, 2021, Department of Homeland Security Oversight Hearing
House Select Committee on Jan. 6 Attack, accessed Aug. 19, Membership
Sen. Ted Cruz, June 9, Tweet (archived)
Forbes Breaking News via YouTube, March 2, Ted Cruz: Ukraine Invasion 'Direct Result Of Two Catastrophic Mistakes From The Biden White House'
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim video shows Cruz with new Jan. 6 information
