Whistleblower Edward Snowden received $20,000 to speak at a University of Arizona event via Skype March 25.

Snowden remotely joined Noam Chomsky and Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who first broke the story, for a panel discussion.

KGUN9, ABC15's sister station in Tucson, obtained the information via a public records request for the contract between the University of Arizona Foundation and American Program Bureau, Inc. -- the speakers bureau that represents Snowden.

University of Arizona spokesman Chris Sigurdson said the money did not come from the UA.

"All fees for Greenwald and Snowden's speakers' bureau were paid by the Don Moon Foundation. Chomsky does not charge for his appearances. Half the money will be used to help sponsor the privacy lecture series downtown next fall and the other half is going to support the graduate students in the Department off Linguistics, Chomsky's academic discipline."

Snowden is known for leaking classified government documents that exposed secret government surveillance programs in 2013. He is now wanted for espionage in the United States and has been granted asylum in Russia.