Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Sunday defended his promise to "vigorously" fight a war on pornography by accusing President Barack Obama's administration of "exposing children" to risk by not enforcing existing laws.

In an undated statement on his official website, the former Pennsylvania senator asserted that “America is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography” because Obama's Justice Department was favoring "pornographers over children."

“Pornography is toxic to marriages and relationships,” the statement says. “It contributes to misogyny and violence against women. It is a contributing factor to prostitution and sex trafficking.”

“Current federal ‘obscenity’ laws prohibit distribution of hardcore (obscene) pornography on the Internet, on cable/satellite TV, on hotel/motel TV, in retail shops and through the mail or by common carrier,” the statement continues, adding that these laws should be “vigorously enforced.”

On Sunday, CNN's Candy Crowley asked Santorum if he honestly believed the Department of Justice favored pornographers over children.

"The proof is in the prosecution," Santorum replied. "Under the Bush administration, pornographers were prosecuted much more vigorously than they are under existing law than they are under the Obama administration. So, you draw your conclusion."

"My conclusion is they have not put a priority on investigating these cases. And in doing so, they are exposing children to a tremendous amount of harm. And that to me says they are putting the unenforcement of this law and putting children at risk as a result of that."