Tye says his "policy" when speaking to reporters is to have another person present who will bear witness to his comments. It's for Tye's protection; to ensure he has backup if a reporter misquotes him or if he's accused of saying something he shouldn't have said.

About 15 minutes pass before Tye emails to say that he has found a former colleague at the State Department who has agreed to listen in on the call. Then Tye, who says he still holds a top-secret clearance, lays down some ground rules for VICE News.

"I'm not going to tell you any classified information; even stuff that's been on the front page of the Washington Post," he says. "If you hear something that sounds like I am talking about classified activities or NSA activities, I want to tell you right now you misheard what I said, and you should ask me for a clarification because that's not what I am going to be talking about."