Rand Paul Warns: 'Nothing But Bad' for Snowden if He 'Cozies Up' to the Russians or the Chinese

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Sunday warned admitted National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden not to align himself with the Russians or the Chinese, saying it will be "nothing but bad for his name in history" if he does.

Paul, who has been a defender of Snowden's, spoke as the former NSA contractor was en route from Hong Kong to Moscow. Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Paul said Director of National Intelligence James Clapper "lied to Congress...in the name of security" while Snowden "told the truth in the name of privacy."

"I do think for Mr. Snowden, if he cozies up to the Russian government, it will be nothing but bad for his name in history," Paul said. "If he goes to an independent third country like Iceland and if he refuses to talk to any sort of formal government about this, I think there's a chance that he'll be seen as an advocate of privacy. If he cozies up to either the Russian government, the Chinese government or any of these governments that are perceived still as enemies of ours, I think that will be a real problem for him in history."

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