CHARLES CITY, Iowa -- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton lied to the American people about Benghazi, and now voters will "administer a spanking," which is how Cruz disciplines his 5-year-old daughter when she doesn't tell the truth.

"What happened in Benghazi was a national disgrace," Cruz said, responding to a question from a voter on Friday asking how the Republican presidential hopeful would hold those accountable for the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Libya that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Cruz said Clinton, then secretary of state, knew the attack on the U.S. consulate was related to terrorism, but instead, publicly blamed the violence on some "ridiculous Internet video."

"We do know Hillary told her daughter Chelsea, 'Well gosh, I knew it was a terrorist attack,' while she was out there telling American people it wasn't," Cruz continued.

"In my house, if my daughter Catherine, the 5-year-old, says something she knows to be false, she gets a spanking," Cruz said, standing on the bar of a local shop here, looking into the crowd.

In the Democratic primary, Cruz said voters have the opportunity to hold Clinton accountable.

"In America, the voters have a way of administering a spanking," Cruz said with a smirk. "I can tell you this: As president ... there will be accountability for Benghazi."

Cruz, currently the Republican front-runner in Iowa, is wrapping up his six-day, 28-county tour of the state.

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