Former head of the National Security Agency Michael Hayden is making headlines for an interview he gave on Thursday, but not at all in the manner he intended.

Fellow passenger and former political activist Tom Mattzie, on the other hand, had no intention of making the evening news, but that’s exactly what happened after he recognized Hayden, seated behind him, and overheard him offering up thoughts on the Obama administration regarding the ongoing revelations about the NSA.

Realizing the opportunity, Mattzie did what any technologically savvy public citizen might do: he started tweeting.

As the Guardian relates the ironic story of the former spy chief who got spied upon:

The Huffington Post adds:

The tweets themselves, however, tell the story best:

And the clinchers:

This email interview with New York Magazine is worth adding as well:

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