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Marco Rubio says Snowden revelations 'most damaging' in U.S. history. What do historians say?

Sen. Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, was very critical of Snowden for not following the law. (AP file photo) Sen. Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, was very critical of Snowden for not following the law. (AP file photo)

Sen. Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, was very critical of Snowden for not following the law. (AP file photo)

Joshua Gillin
By Joshua Gillin April 22, 2014

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio makes it clear where he stands on Edward Snowden’s exposure of the National Security Agency’s spying programs: The situation couldn’t be more dire.

"The single most damaging revelation of American secrets in our history," Rubio said when asked about the matter after a foreign policy speech at the University of Texas on April 15.

We didn't fact-check Rubio, but we did survey a raft of historians and experts to see if they felt the senator was making a reasonable point.

The verdict: Reasonable, perhaps, but not definitive. Read the full report at PolitiFact national.

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Marco Rubio says Snowden revelations 'most damaging' in U.S. history. What do historians say?