Chris Christie attacks Rand Paul for 'siding with' Edward Snowden

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday slammed fellow Republicans in the Senate for blocking the renewal of the PATRIOT Act, calling out Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul in particular.

Asked on “Fox & Friends” about his take on Lee’s comments that Christie should be “ashamed” of his remarks and that he should choose his words more carefully, Christie responded: “Uh, yeah, no. And listen, that’s typical of what they do in Washington, D.C. When you don’t know something about what you’re talking about, you then change the conversation.”


Christie touted his work as a federal prosecutor using the PATRIOT Act to pursue terrorists in New Jersey.

“I agree with the folks in the intelligence community who have kept us safe for the past nearly 14 years now, since 9/11. The fact is, all of the different people who are expressing opinions on this in the Senate right now, none of them have used the PATRIOT Act, none of them have prosecuted terrorists. I have,” he said. “And so they talk about it from a speculative perspective. I talk about it from a real-life perspective.”

The Republican presidential hopeful blasted the likes of Lee and Paul for supporting viewpoints similar to those of Edward Snowden, whom Christie called a criminal.

“He’s a criminal and he’s hiding in Russia, and he’s lecturing to us about the evils of authoritarian government while he lives under the protective umbrella of Vladimir Putin?” Christie asked. “That’s who Mike Lee and Rand Paul are siding with? With Edward Snowden? Hey, come on.”

The governor also blasted President Barack Obama’s strategy in the Middle East, with particular emphasis on the Islamic State and Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria.

“If a President Christie had drawn a red line in Syria,” he said, the United States would have taken out Assad as promised.

As for his presidential ambitions, Christie said he would make a decision in the next month. Asked about Rick Santorum’s campaign announcement, which is expected Wednesday, Christie said he was sure the former Pennsylvania senator would run a good race.

In a word-association exercise, Christie did not say anything particularly striking against his potential primary and general election opponents, calling Carly Fiorina a “very bright woman, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio a “very smart guy” and Donald Trump “a smart guy who is never boring.”

Christie said he likes former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and said Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton “has not said much worthy of comment.”