During his speech to Senate colleagues on Sunday decrying provisions of the Patriot Act that allow for the bulk collection of data, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul suggested that his opponents want a terrorist attack on the United States so they can point the finger at him,
The Daily Caller reports.
"People here in town think I’m making a huge mistake," he said. "Some of them, I think, secretly want there to be an attack on the United States so they can blame it on me. One of the people in the media the other day came up to me and said, 'oh, when there’s a great attack aren’t you going to feel guilty that you caused this great attack?'"
The attackers are the ones responsible, Paul said.
"Do we blame the police chief for the attack of the Boston bombers? The thing is that there can be attacks even if we use the Constitution, but there have been attacks while collecting your bulk data.
"So the ones who say, when an attack occurs it’s going to be all your fault, are any of them willing to accept the blame? We have bulk collection now, are any of them willing to accept the blame for the Boston bombing, for the recent shooting in Garland? No, but they’ll be the first to point fingers and say, 'oh, yeah it’s all your fault, we never should have given up on this great program.'
"I’m completely convinced that we can obey the Constitution, use the Fourth Amendment as intended, spirit and letter of the law, and catch terrorists," he said.
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Paul’s crusade successfully blocked, albeit temporarily, controversial provisions of the Patriot Act from being renewed — they expired at midnight Sunday. Senate Republicans have since agreed to debate a House bill making changes to the National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records.
The Senate cannot vote on the changes — part of a measure known as the USA Freedom Act — before 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Paul, a libertarian who is seeking the Republican nomination for president, lauded his efforts to sideline the Patriot Act, something he characterizes as "illegal,"
Business Insider reports.
"Tonight we stopped the illegal NSA Bulk data collection," he said in a statement. "This is a victory no matter how you look at it. While some will use fear and intimidation tactics, I believe there is nothing that prevents our intelligence community from continuing to safely guard our nation, while also respecting our Constitution."
At the conclusion of the Senate debate on Sunday, Paul conceded that blocking the bill’s renewal would be brief, according to
Bloomberg News.
"As we move forward, the Patriot Act will expire tonight," he said at the close of the debate. "It will only be temporary. They will ultimately get their way. But I think the majority of the American people actually do believe the government has gone too far."
His fierce opposition to the Patriot Act has unnerved both the law enforcement and intelligence communities as well as
members of his own party.
Arizona Sen. John McCain and others have accused Paul of using his soapbox for the purpose of raising money for his presidential campaign.
"I know what this is about — I think it's very clear – this is, to some degree, a fundraising exercise," said McCain. "He obviously has a higher priority for his fundraising and political ambitions than for the security of the nation."
At 10:43 p.m. Sunday, Paul sent out a Twitter message to his followers along with a link to his website’s donation page:
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