Chambliss: Snowden Should 'Look American Jury in the Eye'

If Edward Snowden is not a traitor, "he's pretty darn close to it," says Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia.

"He needs to look an American jury in the eye and explain why he has disclosed sources and methods that are going to put American lives in danger," Chambliss said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Chambliss said that because of Snowden's disclosures of National Security Agency methods terrorists are now taking different tactics to avoid detection.

Chambliss headed a subcommittee after 9/11 that determined that the National Security Agency wasn't doing enough to look at modern forms of communication. It was a result of that work that the NSA began making sweeping collections of data, such as phone records, emails and other forms of online communication.

Snowden, a contract employee for the NSA, shared those methods with the press, saying that American citizens' privacy rights are being violated. Some have hailed Snowden as a hero, while others, such as Chambliss, have not been so kind.

While Chambliss admitted there is no way to know if 9/11 could have been prevented if current methods had been in place, "We weren't doing the things that we were capable of doing to try to make sure that these bad guys don't have all the tools."

The programs have stopped terrorist activity "time and time again," Chambliss said, adding that he hopes more examples are given to the public in the next few days.