Rand Paul urges Clapper to resign

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday called on Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to resign his post.

{mosads}Paul also floated the idea of prosecuting Clapper for perjury.

Paul said Clapper’s misleading testimony to a Senate panel earlier this year about a National Security Agency program that collected phone records has hurt the United States far worse than anything leaker Edward Snowden has done.

“I find really that Clapper is lying to Congress is probably more injurious to our intelligent capabilities than anything Snowden did because Clapper has damaged the credibility of the entire intelligence apparatus, and I’m not sure what to believe anymore when they come to Congress,” Paul said in an interview with CNN.

Paul has been consistently critical of Clapper and the surveillance program since its public disclosure this year.

During a hearing in March, Clapper said the NSA does not “wittingly” collect bulk information on all Americans. After Snowden leaked a trove of NSA documents, it was revealed that the agency collects metadata from all U.S. phones. Clapper has since apologized for the statement.

“And I really think that in order to restore confidence in our intelligence community, I think James Clapper should resign,” Paul said.

Read more on The Hill.