Rubio: Obama Has Created 'Culture of Intimidation'

Sen. Marco Rubio said the Obama administration has created a "culture of intimidation" with its widespread misuse of government power to target and intimidate its political foes.

Speaking on the Senate floor on Wednesday, the Florida Republican said reports of the IRS targeting political groups, revelations that Benghazi whistleblowers were intimidated by the State Department, and moves by the Justice Department to search the phone records of The Associated Press were "chilling" and "unacceptable," and he likened the actions to "tactics of the Third World."

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"In the span of four days, [there were] three major revelations about the use of government power to intimidate those who are doing things that the government doesn't like," he said.

"These are the tactics of the Third World. These are the tactics of places that don't have the freedoms and the independence that we have here in this country."

Rubio, a top GOP prospect for president in 2016, said the Obama administration has created a "culture of intimidation" and "hardball politics" which have been prevalent both on the campaign trail and throughout the government.

Rubio kept up his criticism on Thursday, saying on MSNBC that "the president needs to be honest about the culture of intimidation."

The resignation of the top IRS official "was just the beginning," said Rubio. "There should be prosecutions."