Story highlights Cruz at CNN town hall: Trump ally planted affairs story with friendly publisher

Earlier in the day, Amanda Carpenter denounced "sexist smears" suggesting she had an affair with Cruz

Washington (CNN) Ted Cruz on Tuesday night accused Donald Trump's allies of conspiring to publish a National Enquirer story alleging the Texas senator had multiple affairs with unnamed women.

Cruz suggested that Roger Stone, a former aide to Trump, and David Pecker, CEO of the National Enquirer's parent company, had been in cahoots, pushing an item he has repeatedly denied and denounced as "garbage."

"The story, on its face, quoted one person on the record: Roger Stone," Cruz said during a CNN town hall event in Wisconsin. "Roger Stone has been Donald Trump's chief political adviser. He planned and ran his presidential campaign and he's been his hatchet man -- he's spent 40 years as a hatchet man. But not only that, the head of the National Enquirer, a guy named David Pecker, is good friends with Donald Trump."

JUST WATCHED Carpenter: Cruz affair allegations are sexist smears Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Carpenter: Cruz affair allegations are sexist smears 05:40

Representatives for National Enquirer's parent company, American Media Inc., did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But on Friday, the company said in a statement that "no one influences" the tabloid magazine's reporting "other than our own reporters and editors."

"We stand by the integrity of our coverage and remain committed to our aggressive reporting on such an important topic," the spokesperson said in an email.

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