“One unapologetic senator who I’ve had a few rounds with said, ‘If you’re not talking to terrorists, why are you worried?’” Paul said. “Have we fallen so low that that is our standard? If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear? It’s a long way from innocent until proven guilty.”

.@RandPaul says “our Founding Fathers would be mortified” by federal government’s surveillance programs: http://t.co/IYMmwVygXJ

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) April 23, 2015

The libertarian-leaning Kentucky Republican, who launched a White House bid earlier in the month, noted that members of his own party support programs that allow the National Security Agency to collect the phone records of millions of Americans.

“Our Founding Fathers would be mortified,” Paul said during an awards ceremony hosted by the Constitution Project, a Washington think tank.

Rand Paul: "Our founding fathers would be mortified" by those who defend the NSA http://t.co/RpvUAn8ZyO pic.twitter.com/JgCJ4PXNX3

— The Hill (@thehill) April 23, 2015