THIS PROBABLY ISN'T A FIRST BUT

...it's unusual for top Republicans to react so strongly against one of their own:

Fox’s Wallace Stunned: GOP Leaders Sent Me Opposition Research on Ted Cruz
by Evan McMurry | 1:06 pm, September 22nd, 2013
MEDIAITE

Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace said Sunday morning that he’d received opposition research from other Republicans about Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) in advance of Cruz’s appearance this morning, a serious indication of how upset the GOP is with the Senator leading the risky charge to defund ObamaCare.

“This has been one of the strangest weeks I’ve ever had in Washington,” Wallace said. “As soon as we listed Ted Cruz as our featured guest this week, I got unsolicited research and questions, not from Democrats but from top Republicans, to hammer Cruz.”