Jay Carney‘s job has been getting tougher over the past month, and he certainly earned his pay today when he was peppered with questions from reporters about Edward Snowden, the Booz Allen contractor who leaked classified information to the press, and about the investigation into the intel he provided to journalists.

Today’s presser marks the first time White House officials have stood before reporters since Snowden allowed The Guardian to reveal his identity on Sunday.

“There is obviously an investigation under way into this matter and for that reason I will not be able to discuss this individual or the investigation,” Carney stated at the start of the daily briefing. When asked if the White House knew of Snowden’s whereabouts, Carney again declined to comment.

Snowden was previously believed to be holed up in Hong Kong hoping to avoid deportation to the United States, but recent reports suggest that his location is now unknown, as he checked out of his hotel this morning without giving notice of where he was headed.

Carney continued to defend the administration’s policies in today’s briefing:

It’s entirely appropriate for a program to exist to look at foreign data and potential foreign terrorists but there are procedures in place … at the congressional, executive and judicial levels that provide oversight over these issues

The press secretary added that President Obama’s ”record on transparency is broad and significant.”