Okay, first of all, it wasn't a lie. CNN reported it. If anyone lied about it, it was CNN. The Cruz staff was overzealous and ran with it without checking it. Again, not a lie, and yes it is CNN's fault for getting that rumor started.
Cruz's staff should have contacted Carson's staff for verification, but as I said, overzealous and probably not too concerned with being accurate if they thought it would help their cause. There is a term used by a lot of bloggers to describe such a story. "Too good to check."
But it is not a "lie" by Cruz.
The damage is already done and it was an attempt to smear or decive which is another word for lie.
The people attempting to smear and deceive were the ones who insisted on calling it a "lie" even though it clearly was not a lie.
As a matter of fact, they are doing virtually the exact same thing that they are accusing Cruz of doing. They are lying and misleading people because they see it as damaging their opponent.
If they were being honest, they would admit that this bollixed up incident does not rise to the level of a lie, but that recognition does not suit *THEIR* agenda.
What the Cruz camp did in IA was most certainly a lie. The voicemails sent to every caucus location said Carson was “suspending his campaign,” and that he would have a “big announcement” the following week.
A, both were patent lies. B, CNN never reported either one.
What’s more, Jeff Roe had done the EXACT same thing to an opponent in an earlier campaign. Since it worked for him once, why would he not have done it again. Roe is famous for dirty tricks; they are his speciality.