Greenwald: Bipartisan work to reform NSA programs is ‘inspiring’

Journalist Glenn Greenwald, who first revealed sweeping U.S. government surveillance programs last year, said in an interview Sunday he is inspired by the bipartisan coalition of lawmakers that is working to rein in the National Security Agency (NSA).

{mosads}There is an “extremely inspiring bipartisan coalition that has emerged that has demanded that there be restraints imposed on the NSA,” he said during an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Since reporting from Greenwald and others began surfacing last year, members on both sides of the aisle have banded together in rare alliances to call for NSA reform.

There has been “a complete breakdown in the traditional standard divisions” between political parties, Greenwald said.

He also responded to being called a “traitor” for disclosing information about surveillance programs. Some critics say those revelations make it harder for the U.S. intelligence community to detect and prevent threats.

“I look at that really as a badge of honor,” he said, calling it “a testament to the fact that we’re doing our jobs.”