ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Sen. Rand Paul, who just called for former national security adviser Susan Rice to come to Capitol Hill and testify, under oath, about the unmasking of President Donald Trump-tied associates, reached new heights of accusation Thursday, outright saying the ex-Barack Obama administration official committed a crime.

The question: Did Rice commit a crime? The answer, from Paul: “Yeah.”

That was on “Kilmeade & Friends” on Fox News Radio.

Here’s the larger excerpt, courtesy Fox News:

“Yeah,” he said. “I think she did something that’s devastating, and that is to take top secret information without a warrant for looking at an American individual, and exposed that individual, and then perhaps be associated with people who may have leaked this information.”

Paul went on, accusing Rice of doing “something terribly damaging to this country” via the intel community, a scenario that points to the “dangers” of having “political people use top secret information for political purposes,” he said.

And “the more we learn about Susan Rice, the more we’re going to learn that she’s been involved, I think, in a lot of shenanigans with using intelligence at the White House for political purposes,” Paul said.

Paul blamed the secret FISA courts, in part, for creating a scenario that gave government the authority to listen in on American citizens’ conversations, absent warrants.

“But when they’re talking to Americans, to listen to the Americans or to unmask the Americans,” he said, “I think you ought to go to a regular court and have a regular court order or warrant.”

Congress is due to consider reauthorization of the FISA court system this year; Paul has been using the Rice matter to showcase just why this court’s powers ought to be curbed.