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Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky who recently was attacked by a neighbor while working on his lawn, said he believes the anger and polarization around the country fueled the assault.

Somebody who is going to attack you has to have something else wrong other than your yard, he said.

With the whole idea of the country being angry, over your yard or even the guy that shot us in the ball field There's just some people so angry, said the senator, who was on a baseball field over the summer when a gunman shot Rep. Steve Scalise, R-LA, and three others.

The neighbor, 58-year-old Rene A. Boucher of Bowling Green, Kentucky, admitted to the assault, but denied accusations that it may have been politically motivated, according to court documents. Boucher was charged with assaulting a member of Congress resulting in personal injury, a felony under federal law, the documents say.

I didn't know how badly I was hurt in the beginning, Paul said of the injury. To describe how much it hurt, I couldn't sit up. I had to have help to sit up for the first four or five weeks, he said. Who knew you had to have armed protection to mow your yard?"

He was wearing hearing protection when he was attacked from behind, he said. The attack ultimately left him with five broken ribs, three of which will heal in a crooked fashion.

Paul also discussed news of day with the co-hosts, including the release of a Republican memo accusing the Department of Justice of political bias. Paul appeared just minutes before the memo was posted online by the House Intelligence Committee but voiced his support for its release.

If you look at my position, I had the same position under President Obama that I have under President Trump and that is the power to listen to people's conversation, your private conversations are private and nobody else's business and the government should not reveal that, Paul said, prior to the memo's release.

The memo was first drafted by the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif, amd is critical of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for his role in renewing a surveillance warrant on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page after Trump took office.

The president approved its release on Friday, despite a statement Wednesday in which the FBI expressed "grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo's accuracy."

Paul falls on the side of privacy advocates, he said, and is worried about information getting into the wrong hands.

The worrisome thing is the government has all of your information. Do you want them releasing it willy-nilly against their enemies? he said. And think who the enemies are. They're people who are minorities of opinion, minorities of color. People who have a lifestyle that other people think is unacceptable. Do you want the government or the majority to be able to selectively target their enemies?

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Mark Seliger for TIME

When the Tea Party movement wanted to send a message to the Senate in 2010, it elected a clear-sighted eye doctor from the Bluegrass State. In a D.C. too often defined by the venal equivocations of a permanent political class more interested in consolidating its own power than in upholding the Constitution or defending the common good, Senator Rand Paul is a voice of reason awakening the public to what must be done to restore our prosperity and preserve the blessings of liberty for future generations. His brand of libertarian-leaning conservatism attracts young voters, and recently he inspired the nation with his Capraesque filibuster demanding basic answers about our use of drones. I sent him some caribou jerky from Alaska to help keep up his strength on the Senate floor. Theres more where that came from for this bold Senator with 20/20 vision willing to take a stand for liberty.

Palin is a former governor of Alaska

Next Noynoy Aquino

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Rand Paul | TIME 100: The 100 Most Influential People in ...

Authorities in Kentucky released audio of Sen. Rand Paul's 911 call Monday, in which the Republican reported that he "was assaulted by my neighbor" this past November.

Paul, who can be heard breathing heavily on the audio, tells the dispatcher that the incident is "not a life-or-death thing, but I'd like to have a police car come by." He gives his full name, Randal Paul, when asked by a second dispatcher and tells her that he was attacked "in my yard, while I was mowing the grass."

The audio was made public on the same day it was revealed that federal prosecutors would seek a 21-month prison sentence for the man accused of attacking Paul outside his Bowling Green, Ky., home Nov. 3.

In comments to police, Rene Boucher indicated the attack on Paul was not politically motivated, according to a court document filed by prosecutors. Instead, it had to do with a dispute over yard maintenance that boiled over.

Boucher said he saw Paul stacking more brush onto an existing pile and had "had enough." Boucher made a "running tackle" of Paul in the lawmaker's yard, it said.

The document said Paul "did not see the attack coming until the last second, and was unable to brace for the impact."

Rene Boucher told authorities he had 'had enough' after Paul stacked brush onto an existing pile.(AP)

Paul suffered several broken ribs in the attack and later developed pneumonia. Paul has since said he's recovering well from the attack.

Boucher has been charged with assaulting a member of Congress as part of a federal plea agreement that surfaced last Friday.

While federal prosecutors will recommend a nearly two-year prison sentence, Boucher's attorney said Monday he will argue that his client should not serve any jail time. Attorney Matt Baker said his client is "a good and a decent person" who made a "big mistake."

"Everyone needs to remember, first and foremost, that this is a dispute between two neighbors," Baker told the Associated Press in a phone interview. "It was not and has never been politically motivated. And if this very same incident had occurred between two private persons, neither of whom were a congressman or a senator, we wouldn't be in federal court."

Boucher is "very meticulous" about how he maintains his yard, while Paul takes "a much different approach" to the upkeep of his property, Baker said last week.

The federal charge against Boucher carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The plea deal also raises the prospect that Boucher a retired anesthesiologist in his late 50s will pay restitution to Paul.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul brushed off suggestions that President Trump holds a racial animus against Haitians because he once supported Pauls trip to the Caribbean nation to do eye surgeries on poor Haitians.

Paul said on NBCs Meet The Press Sunday that Trump donated money to a medical mission trip Paul took before he was president. Paul did about 200 surgeries on Haitians that allowed them to see while he was on the trip, and he said thats evidence Trump isnt prejudiced against the country.

It is unfair to draw conclusions from a remark that I think wasn't constructive is the least we can say and I think it is unfair to all of a sudden, paint him, well, he's a racist, when I know for a fact he cares very deeply about the people in Haiti because he helped to finance a trip, we were able to give vision back for 200 people in Haiti, Paul said.

The comments come days after Trump reportedly said Haiti and some African nations are shithole countries.

That remark has led to an onslaught of Democratic lawmakers calling Trump a racist. Paul said thats not going to help Congress come to a deal on immigration.

There are a lot of questions that this ultimately intersects with policy, and the only thing I regret from all of this, other than I think some people in the media have gone completely bonkers with, you know, just ad hominem on the president, I want to see an immigration compromise and you can't have an immigration compromise if everybody is out there calling the president a racist, he said.

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Sen. Rand PaulRandal (Rand) Howard PaulLexington mayor launches bid for Congress Trump-free Kennedy Center Honors avoids politics Meet the Iran hawk who could be Trump's next secretary of State MORE (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that while he supports additional barriers at the U.S.-Mexico border, he believes some of the estimated costs for President TrumpDonald John TrumpHouse Democrat slams Donald Trump Jr. for serious case of amnesia after testimony Skier Lindsey Vonn: I dont want to represent Trump at Olympics Poll: 4 in 10 Republicans think senior Trump advisers had improper dealings with Russia MOREs border wall are too high to justify.

"I remain a fiscal conservative, even on the wall, so Im not excited about spending $20, $30, $40 billion on a wall. Im still a believer that we dont have money to spend. Were $700 billion in the hole, Paul said on CNN.

And while I will vote for money for barriers, Im not voting for $40 billion for barriers, Paul added.

The Trump administration is seeking $33 billion in total to increase southern border security, with the remaining $15 billion going to fund technology, personnel and other improvements.

Another $8.5 billion over seven years would be used to pay for 5,000 new Border Patrol agents.

Paul said Wednesday he supports having barriers in certain locations along the border, but that the price tag of those barriers should be debated. He also advocated for using technology to improve border security, which he argued is a cheaper alternative.

"The barriers, I think we need to look at the cost of them. The people advocating for it are forgetting theyre fiscally conservative and are just giving enormous numbers, Paul added.

Lawmakers met Tuesday to discuss immigration, including border security and the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Trump has said funding for the border wall is a requirement forhis agreement on a legislative fix for DACA, which allows certain immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children tolive and work in the countrywithout fear of deportation.

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