Trump’s insistence that Obama illegally wiretapped him has been a political disaster. The GOP, all too eager to investigate those claims instead of any potential Trump staffer’s links to Russia, instead found that while Trump and Trump staffers had been surveilled, it was incidental collection, in other words, somebody the intelligence community was watching talked to a Trump staffer, not direct surveillance, and didn’t even have anything to do with the Russia allegations. Trump himself is willing to abruptly end interviews these days rather than talk about his claims, but that, for some reason, is not stopping Kentucky senator Rand Paul from demanding the government prove it didn’t watch him.

Paul, most notable for being outspoken and a bit offbeat by Republican standards, has backed up Trump’s claims before, but this morning, he announced he’s doubled down on them.

Paul, it’s worth noting, is under suspicion for no crime whatsoever and isn’t even tangentially related to any of the unfolding scandals surrounding foreign agents and others. This is likely Paul grandstanding to draw attention to his pet cause, reducing the ability of the intelligence community to gather data on innocent American citizens, something he’s sued over and filibustered about. Of course, it’s unlikely Paul turns up in those surveillance records at all, but if he does, he might regret filing the request. After all, spies don’t wear nametags, and Paul might learn more about people he’s met with than he might care to.

(via Rand Paul on Twitter)