Don’t think he ever had a halo, but guess some thought that. What we are seeing is GOPe hitting Cruz from one side and Trump from the other. As to the letter, not sure what you mean by “finally admitted”, seems he owned the letter when it first came out. And, no reason not to, it is a campaign tactic used by both Dems and the Republicans, to include the Rep Party, but the Iowa Sec State is a Trumper and against Cruzes anti ethanol subsidies stance, so he was hardly unbiased. Additionally, the individual in the Cruz campaign who put out the mailer is a former SecState who says those mailers are routine. But, as is evident by the invective and name calling on most political threads on this and other boards, facts, and in some case, reason are ignored.
No he waited 48 hours before he admitted he ok’d them. There were long threads here claiming a subordinate allowed them. You would be ok with your neighbors knowing your voting habits? Not me even though they are an A+.