Former Obama Advisor: President's Claim of No Domestic Spying Program 'Ridiculous'

When President Barack Obama went on "The Tonight Show" Tuesday and said America has no domestic spying program, he didn't convince one of his most ardent supporters — his own former green jobs adviser Van Jones.

"If we don't have one now, I would hate to see us with one," Jones said Wednesday on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper."

"Everybody knows I love this president," Jones said, "but this is ridiculous. What we need to do is figure out how we're going to balance these things, not pretend there's no balancing to be done."

But what bothered Jones even more was his old boss' comment that NSA leaker Edward Snowden could have come forward to someone in government with his concerns that the agency was improperly collecting data on all Americans' communications.

"Well, hold on a second, sir," Jones said. "You are right now prosecuting more whistleblowers not only than any American president – (but) than every American president combined."