Hot Mic! Who Was Caught Mocking Ted Cruz During His Senate Constitution Remarks?

Republican Senator Ted Cruz must have ruffled a few feathers Thursday morning when he questioned Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s “assault weapons” ban, because during his closing remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee, someone could be heard on a hot mic mocking his speech -- on two occasions.

“My fourth and final point is that the Constitution, in my opinion, should be the touchstone of everything we do,” said Sen. Cruz. “I would point out that every one of us takes an oath to defend the constitution.”

“Thank you for the lecture,” someone can be heard muttering under their breath [at about the 20 second mark]:

Later, while driving home his point, Sen. Cruz said this:

In my view, the Constitution is particularly important when the Bill of Rights is unpopular. That was the entire purpose of the Bill of Rights! When our rights are popular, we don’t need the Constitution.

“I’m tired of these condescending…” seemingly the same person can heard saying, trailing off [at about the 22 second mark]:

As of this writing, it’s unclear who was criticizing Cruz.

However, the voice does sound male and it appears likely it was a senator. Additionally, given a) Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy’s impatience with Sen. Cruz' speech (the Democrat senator cuts off Cruz toward the end to remind him that he hasn't been in the Senate for very long) and b) the fact that it’s not uncommon for the chairman’s microphone to be left on, it's not unlikely Leahy could be the culprit.

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RELATED:

• Senate Judiciary Committee OK’s Ban On So-Called ‘Assault Weapons’
• Dianne Feinstein Battles Ted Cruz in Heated Senate Showdown Over Guns: ‘I’m Not a 6th Grader’

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An earlier version of this article incorrectly quoted Sen. Cruz as having said, "When our rights are unpopular..." The senator actually said "popular." This post has been updated to reflect that.