Adm. Michael Rogers, who became head of the U.S.’s spy infrastructure in April, said at a cybersecurity event organized by Bloomberg Government that while he believed it was “wrong” and “illegal” for Snowden to have leaked thousands of classified documents, he appeared to be doing what he sincerely thought was right.

Asked whether he thought Snowden was or is working for the FSB, the Russian security service, Rogers said: “Could he have? Possibly. Do I believe that that’s the case? Probably not.”

Asked about Snowden’s exclusive interview with NBC News’ Brian Williams last month, Rogers said he wanted to be “very balanced.”

“I thought he was an intelligent individual [and] articulate. He seemed fairly arrogant to me,” Rogers said. “He clearly believes in what he’s doing.”