Cruz channels inner John Hancock on Iran letter

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said early Tuesday that he has no regrets about signing the controversial letter to Iranian leaders warning that Congress would overrule a deal on which it wasn’t consulted.

{mosads}”I would sign it and, as John Hancock said, I would sign it in large print so the ayatollah wouldn’t need his reading glasses,” Cruz said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” when asked if he would still sign the letter if given a second chance.

“I think this deal that is being negotiated by the Obama administration is both profoundly dangerous both to the security of our ally, Israel, but also to American national security,” Cruz said.

Democrats have criticized Republicans for using the letter to try to scuttle American negotiations with Iran over stopping its nuclear program. The controversy has roiled Capitol Hill since Republican leadership invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to share his concerns about a potential deal.

But Cruz and other Republicans characterize the letter as a necessary way to reign in a deal that they fear won’t have the teeth to end Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“It was intended to stop a bad deal, absolutely.”

While Cruz and the 46 other Republican Senate signers don’t know the latest language of a potential negotiation, he hit the Obama administration for keeping the media better informed than lawmakers.

“The administration leaks more details about the deal to the media than they actually inform Congress,” he said.