Glenn Greenwald is leaving the Guardian for a new, as-yet-undescribed website, BuzzFeed reported Tuesday.
Greenwald did not specify what his new project would look like, describing it only as a "momentous new venture" and a "once-in-a-career-dream journalistic opportunity that no journalist could possibly decline." He said that the site would be a general-interest outlet, that he would be responsible for its journalism output, and that it had substantial money behind it.
Speaking to the Washington Post's Erik Wemple, Greenwald said the site would have branches in New York, Washington and San Francisco, and that it was being funded by a "particular backer."
"It would be impossible for any journalist, let alone me, to decline this opportunity," he added.
Greenwald had been with the Guardian for just over a year, during which he led the paper in its reporting of Edward Snowden's NSA leaks and saw his own public profile reach new levels of fame and notoriety.
Greenwald was a blogger with Salon and an independent writer before his move to the Guardian. Before that, he was a constitutional lawyer.
Greenwald issued the following statement:
"My partnership with the Guardian has been extremely fruitful and fulfilling: I have high regard for the editors and journalists with whom I worked and am incredibly proud of what we achieved.
The decision to leave was not an easy one, but I was presented with a once-in-a-career dream journalistic opportunity that no journalist could possibly decline.
Because this news leaked before we were prepared to announce it, I'm not yet able to provide any details of this momentous new venture, but it will be unveiled very shortly."
A spokesperson for the Guardian said that the paper was "disappointed" to lose Greenwald.
UPDATE 7:30 p.m. ET: Reuters reports that according to multiple sources, Greenwald's new venture is funded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. Omidyar is also CEO of Honolulu Civil Beat, which partnered with The Huffington Post to create HuffPost Hawaii.
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