Will Ted Cruz remain eligible until the presidential elections?
Calgary-born presidential hopeful Ted Cruz's candidacy is on the rocks as Houston attorney Newton B. Schwartz Sr. files a federal lawsuit against him questioning his eligibility to sit in the most-coveted office in the world. Born to an American mother and a Cuban father, Cruz is allegedly violating the Constitution's "natural born citizen" requirement should he win the presidential elections.
According to New York Daily News, the Schwartz's lawsuit seeks a court definition to clarify whether Canadian-born Cruz, whose roots are American, can or can't serve if he is elected. "This 229-year question has never been pled, presented to or finally decided by or resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court," Houston attorney Schwartz stated in his 28-page suit. "Only the U.S. Supreme Court can finally decide, determine judicially and settle this issue now," Schwartz said. Moreover, since "time is of the essence" due to the Iowa caucuses and the Super Tuesday primaries, he furthered that a resolution by the nation's highest court must be expedited.
The same report clarified that Schwartz filed the lawsuit himself without the influence of anyone.
Schwartz also added he's got "nothing against" Senator Cruz.
"If he gets cleared, he gets cleared," Schwartz said. "Let's just get this thing settled before the primaries and the convention and the election," he added.
Meanwhile, presidential hopeful Donald Trump did not waste any time fanning the flames of Cruz's most-recent controversy. "Ted Cruz was born in Canada and was a Canadian citizen until 15 months ago. Lawsuits have just been filed with more to follow. I told you so," Trump tweeted last Saturday.
Trump did not stop there as he also used the opportunity to point out Cruz failing to disclose a total of $1 million in loans from Citibank and Goldman Sachs. "Based on the fact that Ted Cruz was born in Canada and is therefore a 'natural born Canadian,' did he borrow unreported loans from C banks?" he asked.
Thursday night's Republican debate served as platform for a proper face-to-face between the rivals. When Trump attacked Cruz with his "birther" issue, the latter replied that "though the Constitution hasn't changed recently, his polling numbers have risen."
"There is a big overhang. A big question mark on your head," Trump told Cruz, as per Bloomberg. "You can't do that to the party," he added.
Cruz also maintained that since his mother is American he is considered a U.S. citizen at birth. He also admitted that he didn't realize he still holds Canadian citizenship until the Dallas Morning News in 2013. He renounced his Canada ties in 2014.