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Sen. Rand Paul calls for repeal of Espionage Act amid blowback over Mar-a-Lago search

Sen. Rand Paul is calling for the repeal of the Espionage Act in the wake of the FBI’s raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida.

The Kentucky Republican says the World War I-era federal law that bars the unauthorized retention of national security information that could harm the U.S. has been consistently abused by the government and threatens First Amendment rights.

“The espionage act was abused from the beginning to jail dissenters of WWI,” Mr. Paul tweeted Saturday. “It is long past time to repeal this egregious affront to the 1st Amendment.