Donovan Slack

USA TODAY

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., called on Sen. Ted Cruz to denounce a potentially misleading Facebook post that suggests Gowdy has switched his endorsement from Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to Cruz.

“The truth actually matters to me and to all South Carolinians,” Gowdy said in a statement Tuesday. “Unfortunately it appears that the campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz may not place the same value on waging a contest based on the truth and facts.”

The Cruz camp quickly responded and denied any responsibility, saying "Our campaign had absolutely nothing to do with this fraudulent Facebook post."

The Facebook post, signed “Trey Gowdy Prayers,” features a picture of the lawmaker and the post dated Monday that says endorsing Rubio was a “grave mistake” and the writer — whomever that is — was now formally endorsing Cruz. Although it doesn't explicitly say so, a reader could believe that Gowdy himself switched.

“Nothing could be further from the truth and I’m demanding that Senator Cruz and his campaign repudiate these dishonest and underhanded tactics,” Gowdy said Tuesday. “We can have a debate about the future of our party and our country. But we need not leave our integrity behind.”

The Cruz campaign tweeted their disapproval a few hours later:

Rubio’s campaign, which blasted out Gowdy’s demands, also noted that television stations in South Carolina pulled an ad from a Cruz super PAC in recent days after a legal review.

Cruz came under fire in Iowa after his campaign sent mailers alleging voter violations for failing to caucus, and later, for spreading a false report to caucusgoers that Ben Carson was dropping out of the race.

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