VIDEO: Sen. Rand Paul Talks NSA Surveillance on CBS THIS MORNING

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul knew about NSA surveillance program PRISM, but could not discuss it because of a gag order, he said in an interview broadcast today, June 11, 2013, on CBS THIS MORNING (7:00-9:00 AM) on the CBS Television Network. Watch the appearance in full below!

"The most ridiculous thing I hear from people of this persuasion is politicians saying, 'no one was complaining,' but you can't complain, because they put you in jail if you complain," Paul told co-hosts Charlie Rose, Norah O'Donnell and Gayle King.

Additionally, Paul said that he was "reserving judgment" on whether Edward Snowden, which revealed the NSA program, is a hero or a traitor, and also took issue with recent polls saying that Americans didn't mind surveillance measures if they are used to prevent terrorism. Paul told Gayle King, "I don't think it's true."

Excerpts from the interview are below.

Charlie Rose: Let's talk about Mr. Snowden. Do you think he's a hero or a traitor?

SEN. RAND PAUL: I think it's sort of a side point. I think the real point is the Bill of Rights is being violated, our privacy is being violated, and really no government should do this, and we need to obey the rules. So we're going to try and hold the president accountable and say look, we don't want the government following us around every day.

Charlie Rose: But do you agree with what he did? Whether there's a title to what he did or not, do you agree? Did he do the right thing? Do you support him?

SEN. RAND PAUL: You know I think it's a complicated issue. I think when people choose civil disobedience they're at their wit's end and think there's no other choice. We've had great civil disobedience in our history. Sometimes they turn out that we laud them and other times we say oh they went too far. I personally am trying to work within the law and change the law. I think that's what my job is. And I think we can challenge the President on this, particularly his hypocrisy. I'm reserving judgment on Mr. Snowden but I think he felt like this was something so wrong, billions of phone records, and you have to realize, by looking at your phone records they can actually track your movements all day long. I've been jokingly saying I'm leaving my phone at home when I'm going to Republican leadership meetings because the President doesn't need to know where I am all day long.

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