During a Friday afternoon press conference, President Barack Obama said that he would work with Congress to declassify more information about the National Security Agency's (NSA) secret surveillance programs.

At the same time, Obama denied that it was disclosures by Edward Snowden that moved this issue to the forefront. The reforms were already in the works, he insisted; Snowden's revelations were made in "the most sensationalized manner possible" and unduly scared people.

Even as he proposed reforms, Obama defended the spying as justified and protected from abuses—and he reiterated that Snowden is an accused felon and "not a patriot."

"No, I don't think Mr. Snowden was a patriot," said Obama. "I called for a thorough review of our surveillance operations before Mr. Snowden made these leaks. My preference, and I think the American people's preference, would have been for a lawful, orderly examination of these laws."

"All the surveillance technologies that have developed since these laws were put into place" may require additional reforms, Obama acknowledged. "That's exactly what I called for. The fact is that Mr. Snowden has been charged with three felonies. If in fact he believes that what he did was right, he can come here, appear before a court with a lawyer, and make his case."

If Snowden believed that the leaks were the only way to get the message out, he was wrong, said Obama. "I signed an executive order before Mr. Snowden leaked this to give whistleblower protections to the intelligence community for the first time," he said. "There's no doubt that Mr. Snowden's leaks triggered a much more rapid and passionate response than would have been the case if I had simply appointed this review board, and I had sat down with Congress and worked through it. It would have been less exciting and not generated this much press. But I think we would have gotten to the same place without putting at risk our intelligence."

Asked why he had changed his position on surveillance since when he was a senator, Obama denied that he had changed his position. He reviewed the programs when he came into office and chose to allow them to continue.

The programs "offered valuable intelligence that helped us protect the American people," he said, adding that they are worth preserving and not being abused. "If the American people examined exactly what was taking place... they would say, you know what, these folks are following the law." The question is how he as president can "make the American people more comfortable."

He continued: