Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., says he isn't being an obstructionist by putting a hold on President Barack Obama's FBI director nominee — he's just trying to get answers.
Paul is using a Senate rule to prevent nominee James Comey from being confirmed with a 51-vote majority, instead requiring 60 votes. Appearing on Fox News Channel's "Your World," Paul said he wants assurances that the Federal Bureau of Investigation isn't using unmanned aircraft, known as drones, to spy on Americans without warrants.
"Is the FBI using the Bill of Rights? Are they seeking a warrant from a judge before they spy on us?" Paul said. If it is going on without a warrant, he said, "I will highly object to what's going on and try to stop it."
A drone "has the amazing ability to look everywhere from 50,000 feet" and goes against citizens' right to privacy, he said.
Paul said he has no intention of ultimately defeating Comey's nomination; he just wants to slow it down to have his questions answered.
A hold is a type of filibuster without actually having to take to the Senate floor and engagein a marathon speech, though Paul did that for almost 13 hours in March to get Obama to say whether drones could be used to kill Americans without them first being convicted in court.
Obama eventually said they could not.
"I'm using the filibuster to get information," Paul said. "So I think it's an important tool."
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