National Security Administration whistleblower Edward Snowden, who revealed his identity to The Guardian newspaper on Sunday, was a donor to former Texas Rep. Ron Paul’s presidential campaign.

OpenSecrets.org shows that Snowden twice donated $250 to Paul’s campaign, once on March 18, 2012 from a Maryland address, and a second time on May 6, 2012 from Hawaii. Paul ceased active campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination on May 14, 2012.

In an interview with The Guardian, Snowden said he voted for a third party for president on Election Day last November.

As the Obama administration expanded its surveillance powers, Snowden says he grew disillusioned and secretly began to collect documents to leak to the public. Obama’s struggles to defend NSA’s spying program after his leaks confirmed his view that the government’s program was indefensible

“My immediate reaction was he was having difficulty in defending it himself,” Snowden said. “He was trying to defend the unjustifiable and he knew it.”

Snowden believes his leaks will force changes in the government’s surveillance policy.

“There is a grassroots movement to take to the streets on July 4 in defense of the Fourth Amendment called Restore The Fourth Amendment and it grew out of Reddit,” he said. “The response over the Internet has been huge and supportive.”

Follow Katie on Twitter