Chris Christie on Sunday said Rand Paul, one of his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, had made the US “weaker and more vulnerable” to a terrorist attack.

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Christie, who was a federal prosecutor before he became governor of New Jersey, criticized the Kentucky senator for his stance on government surveillance.

Paul’s efforts against such powers as exercised by the National Security Agency (NSA) included in May a 10-and-a-half-hour filibuster with which he tried but failed to block an extension of Patriot Act powers.

“He is wrong and what he has done has made America weaker and more vulnerable,” Christie said in an appearance on Fox News Sunday.

The US remained in a state of high alert over a possible attack on Sunday, after officials expressed fears of an attack on Independence Day that did not materialize.

According to Christie, the main purpose of government surveillance was to find out who terrorists were talking to in the US, and not to listen to the public’s conversations or look at emails without search warrants.

“What we are saying, though, is that if you are a terrorist, if you know terrorists outside this country and you are calling them from a number inside this country, we would like to know who those people are,” Christie said.

“That’s the right thing to do and as we face a heightened warning on this Fourth of July weekend, what the American people need to know is that Senator Paul’s conduct has made them weaker and more vulnerable to attack.”

Christie also criticized Paul for seeking to use his speeches on the issue as a way to raise campaign funds.

“He is politicizing America’s national security,” Christie said. “He has decided to make America more vulnerable to make a political point. I think it’s wrong. I think it’s dangerous.

“And how about this? If – God forbid – there were to be another attack on the United States, you know Senator Paul would be the first one dragging the CIA director and the FBI director up on Capitol Hill [to] put them under oath and criticize them for not connecting the dots and [he would] not mention, for a moment, this hypocrisy for taking away some of the tools they need to connect those dots.”

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This was not the first time Christie has taken a strong stand on surveillance. In May, he referred to the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden as “a criminal who hurt our country”.

He added: “When it comes to fighting terrorism, our government is not the enemy.”

Shortly before Paul’s filibuster, Christie said national security concerns trumped civil liberties.

“You can’t enjoy your civil liberties if you’re in a coffin,” he said.

That statement did not go over with some members of his party. Utah senator Mike Lee said Christie’s words were “tantamount to political pornography” and said the governor should be ashamed for saying Americans must choose between the fourth amendment and a coffin.

Later, asked by CBS if he was attempting to scare Americans, Christie said: “No, I’m trying to tell them the truth as opposed to what Senator Lee is doing. And Senator Paul.”

Christie said such critics did not know what they were talking about, and added that he did because he served as US attorney in New Jersey for almost seven years.

On Sunday, Christie said: “I am a former prosecutor. I’ve prosecuted terrorists and put them in jail.” He went on to say that if elected president he would appoint an attorney general and other cabinet members who would protect the homeland “first and foremost”.

Paul, Christie said, “wouldn’t know his position is wrong because he has never had the responsibility to do it. I had the responsibility to do it. I had to review applications under the Patriot Act, under section 215. I know what it is like to interact with the Fisa court.



“The fact is that we can do this to protect civil liberties.”