Ron Paul Says US Government May Kill NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden With A Drone Strike

Ron Paul 2012 2 — U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas Reuters

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the name of Fox Business Network as "Fox Business News."

Ron Paul, a former Republican congressman from Texas, fears the U.S. government might try to kill Edward Snowden, who leaked classified information about the National Security Administration's surveillance program, which the government says is necessary to foil terrorist attacks on Americans.

In an interview with Fox Business Network, Paul said that the 29-year-old might be killed by the government for exposing the truth.

“I’m worried about somebody in our government might kill him with a cruise missile or a drone missile,” Paul told Fox. “I mean, we live in a bad time where American citizens don’t even have rights and that they can be killed, but the gentleman is trying to tell the truth about what’s going on.”

Snowden, a former employee of the NSA, fled to Hong Kong before revealing his identity as the man behind the leaks of the government’s surveillance program. Some U.S. lawmakers have called for his immediate extradition from Hong Kong, believing him to be a defector.

House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday put in an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America" program, saying Snowden has put the country at risk of terrorist attacks by exposing important national security programs.

“He's a traitor," Boehner said. "The president outlined last week that these were important national security programs to help keep Americans safe and give us tools to fight the terrorist threat that we face."

"The disclosure of this information puts Americans at risk. It shows our adversaries what our capabilities are. And it's a giant violation of the law," Boehner said.

But Snowden, who donated $500 to the Ron Paul presidential campaign in 2012, has a supporter in Paul.

“He's not defecting, there are no signs of that happening,” Paul said. “It’s a shame that we are in an age where people who tell the truth about what the government is doing get into trouble... No, I don't think for a minute that he's a traitor.”