The allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh laid out in a now-revised New York Times story were not "accidental" and were part of a broader effort by the left to "intimidate the court," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Wednesday.
Speaking on "Fox & Friends," the former presidential candidate said it was "fairly hysterical" to watch the two Times reporters who wrote the essay try to avoid responsibility for omitting key information and blame their editors.
"If you did this on a high school paper, if you were a freshman in high school and you submitted this story, you'd get an F," said Cruz, doubting that any 2020 Democrats will retract their demands for Kavanaugh's impeachment.
NYT UPDATES KAVANAUGH 'BOMBSHELL' TO NOTE ACCUSER DOESN'T RECALL ALLEGED ASSAULT
"Because it's not about facts, it's about crazy, left-wing ideology. That's where the Times is, that's where the candidates are and sadly, the Times is now about propaganda."
The explosive Times essay included an allegation of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh when he was in college.
The Gray Lady's editorial update included the significant detail that several friends of the alleged victim, Harmon Joyce, said she did not recall the purported sexual assault in question at all. The Times also stated for the first time that the alleged victim refused to be interviewed, and has made no other comment about the episode.
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The only firsthand account concerning the supposed attack in the original piece, which was published Saturday, came from a Clinton-connected lawyer who claimed to have witnessed it.
The lawyer, Max Stier, did not actually provide his account directly; the Times acknowledged that "two officials who have communicated with Mr. Stier" had relayed his supposed version of events.
Fox News' Gregg Re contributed to this report.