Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said the similarities between retired Gen. David Petraeus’s mishandling of classified information and Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server could be a “potential problem” as Petraeus is considered for a Cabinet post.

{mosads}Trump is reportedly considering the former CIA director to be secretary of State and said after a meeting on Monday that he was “impressed.” He’s also expected to meet with another potential contender, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), this week. 

 “I think the problem they’re going to have putting forward is there’s a lot of similarities to Hillary Clinton as far as revealing classified information,” Paul told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in a Monday interview.

“They spent a year and a half beating up Hillary Clinton over revealing classified information and then they would appoint somebody who the FBI says not only revealed it, but then lied about it in an interview and purposefully gave it to someone who did not have the clearance to have that.”

Petraeus reached a deal last year with the Department of Justice that included pleading guilty to unauthorized removal of classified material and paying a fine. 

While on the campaign trail, Trump frequently compared Petraeus’s mishandling of classified information as CIA director to that of Clinton, who has been heavily scrutinized for using a private email server when she was secretary of State.

Doug Stafford, Paul’s chief strategist, also signaled Monday that Petraeus’ previous admission that he gave classified information to a woman he was having affair with while he was CIA director should disqualify him. 

 

“Hillary does it — ‘lock her up.’ Gen Petraeus does it — CABINET POST! No,” Stafford wrote on Twitter.

The president-elect referenced the former CIA director throughout his White House campaign, comparing Petraeus’s mishandling of classified information to Hillary Clinton‘s use of a private email server while leading the State Department. Paul also compared the two cases earlier this year, using the former CIA director’s case to argue Clinton should be indicted.