“I wish President Obama had been more aggressive in pursuing it," Sen. Rand Paul said of Russian aggression during the Obama administration. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Rand Paul on Russian election meddling: 'We all do it'

Sen. Rand Paul, discussing Russia's interference in America's 2016 presidential race, claimed Sunday that all countries meddle in foreign elections.

“I think really we mistake our response if we think it's about accountability from the Russians. They’re another country; they're going to spy on us," the Kentucky Republican said on CNN's "State of the Union," a day before President Donald Trump's scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.


“We’re going to do the same," Paul added.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Friday announced special counsel Robert Mueller's indictment of 12 Russian military officials for hacking the Democratic National Committee in 2016.

But Paul maintained that such cyber-intrusions into other countries' elections were common on the world stage, suggesting the United States — while not "morally equivalent" to Russia — provoked the Kremlin's stealth attacks.

“We all do it. What we need to do is make sure our electoral process is protected," Paul said. “They’re not going to admit it in the same way we’re not going to admit we were involved in the Ukrainian elections or the Russian elections.”

Paul also blamed former President Barack Obama for not doing more to halt Moscow's aggression, echoing a series of tweets from Trump on Saturday.

“I wish President Obama had been more aggressive in pursuing it," Paul said.