Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul expressed concern over special counsel Robert Mueller’s tactics Wednesday on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” saying he abused his authority to entrap Michael Flynn during the Russian investigation.
Paul said he’s been consistently worried about abuses in the intelligence community, and believes it has become too easy to spy on ordinary citizens and use that knowledge against them.
“My biggest concern is over something that [James]Madison said in the beginning of our country. He said men are not angels and that’s why we need more oversight of government. Our intelligence community has the ability to listen to every phone call. Every one of your phone calls could be listened to if they wanted to,” Paul said. “Every one of your emails can be tracked. Who you call and how long you speak can be tracked. Every bank transaction can be tracked. So I think because men are not angels and women are not either, there could be bias entering into the intelligence community and we have to be very, very careful that someone gives them a check and a balance. And that check and a balance should be a judge and warrant.”
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Paul explained how the Madison quote connects to Mueller and outlined how simple it is for the government to pressure someone into cooperating with them.
“What does that have to do with Mueller? He recorded general Flynn’s phone call and then got him to say something inconsistent. He was supposed to go after Russian collusion. So far he’s gotten someone over– he recorded general Flynn’s phone call and then got him to say something inconsistent with what was recorded in the phone call,” Paul concluded. “Think about it from a personal perspective. If I had 1,000 phone calls from Stephen Colbert, what I could learn, and if I could interview you, and if you say anything inconsistent with what you said on your private phone calls, I could put you in jail.”
Mueller requested a delay for Flynn’s sentencing Wednesday, as both Flynn’s attorneys and the special counsel’s office told the court they are not yet ready to finalize an exact date for the hearing. The special counsel’s office is due to present an updated report to the court on Thursday.
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