I am not sure Tice was crazy.
Fox News was obviously getting its information directly from Tokyo Rove and Dick Cheney who are propagandists in the tradition of Goebbels. On the other hand the New York Times was using him for political purposes and he was most likely embellishing his story to please them who were making him a hero.
What makes Snowden unique was he had a thumbdrive and the information that he was providing was not entirely from his memory.
I believe the NSA was wiretapping but I do not believe that Tice's story to the Blaze is credible because it became more specific over seven years time and he never claimed that he took documents with him.