In his first interview since he was allegedly physically attacked by his neighbor, Sen. Rand Paul opened up about the assault.
"From my perspective, I'm not really too concerned about what someone's motive is," Paul told the Washington Examiner, referring to the attack 10 days prior. "I'm just concerned that I was attacked from the back and somebody broke six of my ribs and gave me a damaged lung where at least for now I have trouble speaking and breathing, and now I've hurt for 10 days."
Paul returned to the Senate on Monday after suffering six broken ribs and other serious injuries from the Nov. 3 attack. Fifty-nine-year-old Rene Boucher pleaded not guilty to fourth-degree assault on Thursday.
Sen. Paul says he is struggling with severe pain since the incident, referring to his six broken ribs and the fluid buildup in his chest. The senator says he was attacked while doing yard work at his Kentucky home, adding that there is “no justification” for what happened.
“Really if you told me he was doing it for some noble cause to feed starving children somewhere, there is no motive,” the senator said. “There is no motive that would justify hitting somebody from behind and breaking their ribs and damaging their lungs, so no, there is no justification for something like that.”
Paul says he hasn’t spoken to Boucher in about a decade. “My first encounter was basically being hit in the back,” he said. “We’ve never had words over anything, we’ve never had a dispute or discussion or words.”
Paul said there will be a criminal prosecution in this case, and added that he is recovering as expected.
“I would assume it gets better,” he said. “I’m about 10 to 11 days out. Physically I’m in less pain. I just am still having trouble completing sentences because I have to get enough air to expel so there is a little difficulty going still with breathing.”
Paul is expected to vote on administration confirmation hearings and the Republican tax reform bill this week.
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