Ted Cruz faces campaign finance complaint over podcast deal [Video]

WASHINGTON — Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the Texas Tribune here.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is facing a formal campaign finance complaint over money sent from the company that syndicates his podcast to a political action committee supporting his reelection bid.

The complaint, filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission, alleges Cruz may have improperly directed radio distribution and marketing firm iHeartMedia to send over $630,000 to the Truth and Courage PAC, a group dedicated to Cruz’ reelection effort. The amount would exceed the $5,000 limit an officeholder is permitted to solicit for a super PAC.

End Citizens United and the Campaign Legal Center filed the complaint and are seeking a formal FEC investigation into the payments.

The terms of iHeartMedia’s payments are unclear. The company’s agreement with Cruz for distributing his podcast is not public. But the complaint asserts that Cruz could have violated …