Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky ripped the FBI during a Wednesday evening Fox News appearance over a Daily Caller News Foundation report about the agency pressuring Americans to sign away their gun rights.
“There is a certain irony to saying to someone you have to be mentally competent to sign this statement that says you’re not mentally competent to have a gun,” Paul told Fox News host Jesse Watters. “So there is that that might be a quandary if you get into a court of law. How someone that’s mentally incompetent to own a gun could be competent to sign away their gun rights.” (RELATED: Former Trump Aide’s FBI Surveillance Lawsuit Dismissed)
DCNF investigative reporter Gabe Kaminsky revealed that on at least 15 occasions, the FBI pressured Americans into signing forms that relinquished their right to purchase, possess and use firearms. Gun Owners of America obtained the forms through a Freedom of Information Act request and shared them with the DCNF.
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“I think the whole problem we have right now is that there’s a burden upon the FBI to prove to the American public that they are not partisan,” Paul said. “This goes back to 2016 when they used a foreign intelligence warrant to go after Donald Trump and his campaign. A foreign intelligence warrant which should be used on foreigners in a secret court was used to go after a major presidential, you know, candidate.”
The FBI received criticism for its handling of allegations based on a dossier funded by the Clinton campaign that former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia during his 2016 campaign for the White House.
“Now we have two weeks ago or in the last week, an FBI agent has been let go because he was hiding evidence that Hunter, you know, Hunter Biden’s laptop was legitimate,” Paul continued, referencing the abrupt resignation of Timothy Thibault. “So, I think there is a burden on the FBI, whether it’s this, whether it’s guns or anything else to prove to us that they are not acting in a political way.”
Watters expressed skepticism about the law-enforcement agency.
“The FBI says they are not doing this anymore. I don’t know if I believe them. Do you?” the Fox News host asked.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
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