Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says the National Security Agency’s domestic spying program is “one of the worst parts of the Obama administration,” a jab not only at the current president but also fellow Republican Jeb Bush.
Paul promised to stop the NSA’s surveillance of Americans in a Twitter rant he launched late Friday and continued into Saturday morning. “As president, I will immediately end all illegal domestic spying programs,” Paul said in one of about a dozen tweets on the subject.
The NSA’s domestic spying program has come under scrutiny since whistleblower Edward Snowden released classified documents about the agency’s operations. Paul is making the surveillance a campaign talking point that he hopes will help separate him from the Republican pack.
On Wednesday, Paul said the nation’s founders would be “mortified” by the NSA spying revelations during a speech to the Constitution Project.
Since then, he has gone into greater detail on Twitter, attacking President Obama and even some fellow Republicans over their support of the spying program.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who many see as the early favorite for the Republican presidential nomination, said earlier in the week the continuation of NSA’s spying program is “the best part of the Obama administration.”
Paul was not shy about attacking Bush on Twitter over these comments. “Sadly, one GOP candidate thinks the NSA’s violation of your rights is ‘very important,’ ” Paul tweeted. “The best thing Obama has done? His illegal NSA spying program is one of the worst,” he added.
