Paul said he's asked the administration serious questions and gotten 'zero response.' | REUTERS Paul fears 'hellfire missiles' in U.S.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wants one thing before he’ll allow the confirmation of John Brennan as CIA Director to go forward; he wants assurances “someone eating at a cafe in Boston or New York” won’t have “a Hellfire missile [come] raining in on them,” he said Friday on Fox News.

The libertarian scion sent a letter to Brennan’s office at the White House Wednesday asking if the administration has the power to order a lethal drone strike on an American citizen within U.S. borders. Until he gets an answer, Paul has pledged to use “every procedural option at my disposal to delay your confirmation and bring added scrutiny to this issue and the Administration’s policies on the use of lethal force.”


“What we’re talking about is not killing someone with a grenade launcher on their shoulder,” he said Friday. “We’re talking about someone eating at a café in Boston, or New York and a Hellfire missile comes raining in on them. There should be an easy answer from the administration on this. They should say, ‘Absolutely no, we will not kill Americans in America without an accusation, a trial and a jury.’”

Paul said the administration had ignored his inquiries so far.

“I’ve asked serious questions, serious constitutional questions,” he said. “I’ve gotten zero response. And that is sort of the way this administration is treating Congress. The Senate has the right to advice and consent and approve nominees. I’ve not got one word of response from the administration on this.”

The week of Brennan’s confirmation hearings, a memo leaked, outlining the Obama administration’s legal justification for killing Americans engaged in terrorism overseas, prompting outcry from civil liberties advocates. Paul wants to ensure the same justification can’t apply to citizens living in the U.S.