Rand Paul Calls For Snowden To Receive Light Prison Term

Sen.
Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has called for NSA whistle-blower Edward
Snowden to receive a light prison sentence.

When asked by ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos about the New
York Times’
editorial calling for Snowden to be granted “a plea bargain or
some form of clemency” on This Week Paul said:

I don’t think Edward Snowden deserves the death penalty or life
in prison. I think that’s inappropriate. And I think that’s why he
fled, because that’s what he faced.

Paul also said that he doesn’t think it’s ok to leak national
secrets that could put lives at risk.

Paul went on to say that Snowden “probably would come home for
some penalty of a few years in prison,” adding that Director of
National Intelligence James Clapper “probably deserves” a similar
sentence for lying to Congress.

The lie
Paul referred to took place during a Senate hearing in March,
2013. At that hearing, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked Clapper, “Does
the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of
millions of Americans?” Clapper replied “No sir.” When Wyden
responded “It does not?” Clapper said that the NSA does “not
wittingly” collect the amount of data Wyden referred to. Clapper
has since apologized for his response, calling it
“clearly erroneous.”

Watch the exchange below:

Paul has filed a
class-action lawsuit against the NSA “to say to the government
and to the NSA, No, you can’t have our records without our
permission or without a warrant specific to an individual.”

Ken Cuccinelli, the former Virginia attorney general and
gubernatorial candidate, will be a legal adviser for the suit.

Unsurprisingly, Paul’s comments on the NSA have been criticized
by Rep.
Peter King (R-N.Y.), who says that Paul “doesn’t deserve to be
in the United States Senate” and that he “does not know what he’s
talking about.”