Ted Cruz calls AOC a 'liar' for claiming he fundraised off the riots—so she pulls out the receipts

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last week made the rookie mistake of locking horns with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). The two got into a Twitter spat following the violence on Capitol Hill on January 6 when pro-Trump protestors stormed the United States Capitol. Despite having played a substantial role in inciting the riots through his baseless objections to the vote certification of President-elect Joe Biden's victory, Cruz was quick to issue a statement denouncing the rioters' actions. "The attack at the Capitol was a despicable act of terrorism and a shocking assault on our democratic system. We must come together and put this anger and division behind us," he wrote.

"We must, and I am confident we will, have a peaceful and orderly transition of power," Cruz added. The 50-year-old's attempt to wash his hands off the siege was immediately called out by AOC who urged him to accept responsibility. "Sen. Cruz, you must accept responsibility for how your craven, self-serving actions contributed to the deaths of four people yesterday. And how you fundraised off this riot. Both you and Senator Hawley must resign. If you do not, the Senate should move for your expulsion," the 31-year-old tweeted.

Cruz did not take kindly to being called out in such a manner and called the congresswoman "liar" while defending his decision to object to the certification of Biden's Electoral College victory. "You are a liar. Leading a debate in the Senate on ensuring election integrity is doing our jobs, and it’s in no way responsible for the despicable terrorists who attacked the Capitol yesterday. And sorry, I ain’t going anywhere. When you and your socialist buddies try to massively raise taxes, when you try to pass the green new deal & destroy millions of jobs, when you push for amnesty, when you try to pack the Supreme Court w/ activists to undermine our Constitutional rights... I will fight that every step & stand with the People," he tweeted.

He soon learned how dearly he would have to pay for his words when AOC hit back with a fundraising text Cruz sent out during the siege of the Capitol building where he claimed to be "leading the fight to reject electors." Sharing a screenshot of the text which appears to have been sent out at 3.33 p.m. Wednesday, she wrote: "Oh - you’re accusing me of lying? Isn’t this you? Your campaign sent out this fundraising message as people were sieging the Capitol. You claimed to be “leading the fight to reject electors.” Clashes started around 1:20pm. This message was sent after the Capitol was breached."

"Your complete refusal to acknowledge any of the above harm, wrongdoing, or even misjudgement; & your lack of any self-reflection in how these acts contributed to yesterday’s chaos is alarming. It is unbecoming of any elected official and makes you unfit for the office you occupy. Resign," she added. Cruz, however, refused to bow down and issued yet another tweet justifying himself. "Yes, my campaign sends out automated fundraising messages—as does your campaign & every other. When the attack happened, [within] minutes I told my team to halt fundraising. Your LIE is that debating an Election Commission in the Senate somehow supports terrorist violence," he wrote.

Unfortunately for him, his repeated attempts to distance himself from the protests failed to convince the Twitterati. "Your words have consequences. A police officer has now been pronounced dead the same type of people you claim to love so greatly have died as a direct result of your words and those of your cronies. Resign, show some damn respect to the American people," tweeted @davidhogg111. "'[Within] minutes I told my team to halt fundraising.' Clashes started at 1:20. Text at 3:33. Two hours is technically 'within minutes,' but no points for you on this debate, Teddy. Resign. You have blood on your hands, including a police officer who was fighting to protect you," wrote Twitter user Markira.