Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden told Wired magazine that he would willingly return the United States and face jail time “for the right purpose.”

The revelation was part of an in-depth interview Snowden gave to Wired’s James Bamford, published this month.

“I told the government I’d volunteer for prison, as long as it served the right purpose,” said Snowden. “But we can’t allow the law to become a political weapon or agree to scare people away from standing up for their rights, no matter how good the deal. I’m not going to be part of that.”

Currently living secretly in Moscow, Snowden triggered an international firestorm when he leaked details on U.S. surveillance activities to The Washington Post and The Guardian. The reports were first published in June 2013.

The NSA continues to demand Snowden’s return to the U.S.

“If Mr. Snowden wants to discuss his activities, that conversation should be held with the U.S. Department of Justice. He needs to return to the United States to face the charges against him,” said a NSA spokesperson, according to APA.

Snowden also divulged to Wired that it was his work on a secret program called “MonsterMind” that was one of the catalysts for his decision to blow the whistle on the spy agency. Snowden revealed that MonsterMind scans web traffic patterns for signs of an incoming attack, and after identifying a digital assault, blocks or kills it. Unfortunately, the program could easily be tricked into attacking an innocent third party.

“You could have someone sitting in China, for example, making it appear that one of these attacks is originating in Russia,” Snowden told Wired. “And then we end up shooting back at a Russian hospital. What happens next?”