Paper to host online chat with NSA leaker Edward Snowden

National Security Agency (NSA) leaker Edward Snowden will field questions in an online chat on Monday morning. [WATCH VIDEO]

The Q&A session with The Guardian will take place at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time and will be moderated by Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who used documents from Snowden to write about classified NSA surveillance programs.

Snowden has been in hiding since checking out of a Hong Kong luxury
hotel shortly following his decision to come forward as the person
responsible for the leaks. The Guardian warned that Snowden’s efforts to keep his
location secret could lead to interruptions in the chat.

{mosads}”An important caveat: the live chat is subject to Snowden’s security
concerns and also his access to a secure Internet connection. It is
possible that he will appear and disappear intermittently, so if it
takes him a while to get through the questions, please be patient,” the
paper said.

Snowden has come under heavy criticism from U.S. lawmakers, with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), former Vice President Cheney
and Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) all
labeling him a traitor. He was also fired from Booz Allen Hamilton, his
most recent employer.

The White House has declined to comment directly on Snowden, saying it does not want to interfere with an active investigation.

“I won’t characterize him or his status,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said of Snowden last week.

He added that the “appropriate posture” is to allow investigators to
do their work without interference. Carney said it was “up to
investigators to determine whether or not crimes have been committed”
and what charges to bring.

On Sunday,
the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a
statement casting doubt on some of Snowden’s claims, including the
ability of the NSA to monitor Americans’ conversations without a warrant.

“The statement that a single analyst can eavesdrop on domestic
communications without proper legal authorization is incorrect and was
not briefed to Congress,” the office said.