At least two movies have been made about Hanssen. In 1980, after his first interactions with the Soviets, Hanssen told his wife what he had done, and she suggested they meet with a Catholic priest. We believe it was exceptionally grave. It is alleged that Hanssen provided to the former Soviet Union and subsequently to Russia substantial volumes of highly classified information that he acquired during the course of his job responsibilities in counterintelligence. The purloined PalmPilot gave the FBI the final piece of the puzzle: Hanssens next meeting with the Russians was scheduled for the following weekend. Is sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. After five years working at the bureau as a ghost following suspects for a living he would be stepping out of the shadows: spying on someone in plain sight. Press Release - Veteran FBI Agent Arrested and Charged with Espionage, FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. She sold their house and bakery in Alaska and shifted closer to her family in Arkansas after the children were getting bullied massively at their school. The pension was an important consideration for Hanssen in his plea negotiations, Brookner said. I slammed the door behind me and slid to a halt in Hanssens office.. A Warner Bros. While the risk that an employee of the United States Government will betray his country can never be eliminated, there must be more that the FBI can do to protect itself from such an occurrence. For more information:- Press Release - Veteran FBI Agent Arrested and Charged with Espionage- Affidavit- Statement ofFBI Director Louis J. Freeh on the Arrestof FBI Special Agent Robert Philip Hanssen (see below), Statement of FBI Director Louis J. Freeh On the Arrestof FBI Special Agent Robert Philip Hanssen, For Immediate ReleaseFebruary 20, 2001Washington D.C.FBI National Press Office. 91 Followers. Why are we still having these debates? The FBI entrusted him with some of the most sensitive secrets of the United States Government and instead of being humbled by this honor, Hanssen has allegedly abused and betrayed that trust. He used encrypted communications, dead drops, and other clandestine methods to provide information to the KGB and its successor agency, the SVR. The complaint, however, does not allege any compromises by him at the State Department. [14] Sometime in the mid-1960s, Robert Hansen got married for the second time. ONeill rushed everything he found to Alleman, who had all of it copied, and then quickly returned the contents to Hanssens bag. ''I never knew about anything else after that first time,'' Mrs. Hanssen said in the interview. His Russian contacts and Hanssen were highly trained in espionage techniques and were able to work together without ever meeting. February 18, 2001 - Is arrested in a Virginia park after making a drop of classified documents. The priest told Hanssen to stop his illegal activities and donate the money he had gotten from the Russians to charity. A few years later, they moved to Anchorage, Alaska, and had two children. 1981 - Is assigned to the Intelligence Division at FBI headquarters in DC. Furthermore, she supported her husband when he was first incarcerated for theft, and then for abducting and sexually abusing a housewife and a prostitute (although the rape charge concerning the latter was dropped when he pleaded guilty.) As they took him into custody, Hanssen turned to one and said, What took you so long?. Expert interviews recount Hanssen's life, how he stayed hidden for over 20 years, and the events leading to his arrest. Interestingly, Hansen got married twice. The US government took the death penalty off the table in exchange for Hanssens full cooperation. After work each day, ONeill would secretly meet with his actual boss, Special Agent Kate Alleman, recalling everything Hanssen said and did which, as it turned out, would be nothing pleasant. Instead, the 57-year-old defendant will be sentenced to life in prison without parole if he honors his pledge to tell the government all the secrets behind his two-decade career as a Russian spy. Before getting caught in 2001 and sentenced to life in prison, he sold thousands of pages of sensitive material to the Soviet Union and ruined massive U.S. intelligence plans. '', She said her greatest ambition was to resume some form of normal life, adding, ''I would just like to disappear. Today hes a national-security strategist for the cyber-security company Carbon Black and runs his own investigative and security-services firm. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Hanssen took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same, but he decided to violate that oath. January 30, 2003 / 4:50 PM / CBS. Although his name was not specifically mentioned, evidence in the file pointed to Hanssen, who was put under close surveillance. Each time, I share the pride and sanctity of those words when new agents swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same.. The one thing the father and son would eventually have in common is their interest in hunting. He later wrote to his KGB handler, speaking about the severity with which U.S. laws punishes his alleged actions, and acknowledging I know far better than most what minefields are laid and the risks.. She is also challenging some of her husbands credit card bills. But from the vantage of the media, "happens to be" applies only to Pollard: Hanssen is fast-becoming known as "the Catholic spy.". The answer shocked ONeill, then 26. January 12, 2001 - Hanssen is reassigned from counterintelligence to an obscure office at FBI headquarters. ONeill now feared he may have pushed Hanssen over the line from suspicion to paranoia. So he leaned back, forcing Hanssen off balance a bit, and apologized for his outburst claiming he just wanted to make sure they roll into the DIA in style, in that big black FBI SUV., This seemed to pacify his boss. 1979 - Begins spying for the Soviet Union. A Spy in Plain Sight: The Inside Story of the FBI and Robert Hanssen, America's Most Damaging Russian Spy, Lis Wiehl (Pegasus, 2022), 336 pages. Apparently, even though Hansen was naturally a left-handed person, he was always forced to use his right hand, making his speech problems worse. The FBI believed this was his signal site where the Russians would signal when they were ready to receive his intel. Never have we seen such a media fixation on any person accused of a crime whose religion bears . He wanted to interview Hanssen for the book but was refused. Moron! While this arrest represents a counterintelligence investigative success, the complaint alleges that Hanssen located and removed undetected from the FBI substantial quantities of information that he was able to access as a result of his assignments. four in a bed contestant dies. Robert Hanssen is a former FBI agent notorious for committing treason and selling state secrets to the Soviets (later the Russians). On February 18, 2001, Hanssen was arrested at a park in northern Virginia after he had placed a package at a dead drop location. He pleaded guilty to 13 counts of espionage plus two related counts and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. She supports the plea agreement and agrees that the sentence of life in prison without parole, rather than the death penalty, is appropriate in these circumstances.. Only David Wise could tell the astonishing, full story, and he does so, in masterly style, in Spy. They were finishing just as Hanssen texted that he was on his way back. Suit David Huband Photographer Catherine Burdon Agent Nece May 31, 2001 - Pleads not guilty to all charges. Robert Hanssen is accused of spying for the Soviet Union and is awaiting trial. Heres a list, Greek transportation minister resigns over train collision as death toll keeps rising, Ohios senators to unveil rail safety bill in wake of East Palestine derailment, After months of pounding, Ukrainian official says military may pull back from Bakhmut, Elizabeth Holmes cites her new baby as a reason she should avoid prison for Theranos scam. Browse 139 robert hanssen stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. May 10, 2002 Posted: 11:59 AM EDT (1559 GMT) Former FBI agent Robert Hanssen. Midwestern Roots Hanssen was born in April 1944, the only child of a Chicago cop. So ONeill was torn when he got his next assignment: Wed like you to make [Hanssen] angry, Alleman said, hoping the suspected operatives reaction would deepen the psychological profile of him. It said Bokhan's son, Alex, 18, was having trouble in military school and suggested the deputy take his vacation now, three months early, and return to the Soviet Union to deal with him. Before her May 7 polygraph test began, Justice Department investigators read Mrs. Hanssen her Miranda rights, her Washington lawyer, Janine Brookner, said. Nor can there be any doubt that he was keenly aware of the gravity of his traitorous actions. He also expressed his trademark annoyance. Follow. In school, he was bullied for his acne, girls would not talk to him, and he also developed a stutter. Further, the complaint alleges that Hanssen, using his training and experience to protect himself from discovery by the FBI, never met face-to-face with his Russian handlers, never revealed to them his true identity or where he worked, constantly checked FBI records for signs he and the drop sites he was using were being investigated, refused any foreign travel to meet with the Russians, and even declined to accept any trade craft. Hanssen never displayed outward signs that he was receiving large amounts of unexplained cash. He didnt see the PalmPilot, but there was a messenger bag and it was a jackpot: full of data disks, financial statements, a passport and a second cellphone. In his office, Hanssen had full access to the FBIs Automated Case Support (ACS) system and the State Departments computer systems. His job was to help assemble a database of foreign officials posted in New York who, while posing as diplomats, were actually intelligence officers spying on the United States. Children: Lisa, Greg, Mark, John "Jack," Sue and Jane. WASHINGTON -- Robert Hanssen, the longtime FBI agent accused of passing secrets to Moscow over 15 years, has reached a plea deal enabling him to avoid the death penalty in exchange for cooperating with investigators. "She and the children clearly are innocent victims." Advertisement Robert Hanssen, 57, a former FBI counterintelligence agent, pleaded guilty last week to 15 counts of spying for Moscow. When these two KGB officials returned to Moscow, they were tried and convicted on espionage charges and executed. Hanssen was incarcerated in a "supermax" federal prison in Colorado which also houses other notorious inmates, including the Unabomber, one of the Boston Marathon bombers, and a number of organized crime figures. A feature film called "Breach" was released in 2007. Their goal was to catch Hanssen red handed in espionage. Hanssen was finally discovered when a former KGB agent contacted American intelligence agents. Clearly she doesnt approve of what hes done, and there was a whole part of this man she doesnt know, but I think with her deep religious convictions, he will, at least in mind and in spirit, continue to be her husband and the father of her children., Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Caregiver accused in Manhattan Beach child sexual abuse case believed to be in Philippines, Prosecution presents closing arguments in Alex Murdaugh murder trial, Intel agencies say theres no sign adversaries were behind Havana syndrome, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, Yet more rain expected to hit California in March. So Alleman instead asked ONeill to drive Hanssen to a meeting at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in an FBI vehicle that way, she could have someone search Hanssens car while he was out of the office. (AP Photo/Doug Mills) In all, by the time he was arrested in February 2001, Hanssen collected an estimated $1.4 million for giving lists of American undercover agents abroad, the identities of Russian double agents, documents showing the U.S. was intercepting Soviet satellite transmission and the methods by which the U.S . By the time Hanssen and ONeill returned to the office, things seemed normal. Michelle Karr. I left that memo in your inbox, ONeill replied. . Before concluding, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet for the cooperation and assistance of his agency in this investigation. Special Agent Don Sullivan, a squad supervisor at the FBIs Washington Field Office at the time, volunteered to replace Hanssen. Stahl reports that Hanssen invited his best friend to watch him. An FBI arrest team moved into position at Foxstone Park, a location where Hanssen had been spotted before by FBI surveillance. The information he delivered compromised numerous human sources, counterintelligence techniques, investigations, dozens of classified U.S. government documents, and technical operations of extraordinary importance and value. Darla was an extremely religious woman, and she felt that faith could be his way out. In return, he received large sums of money and other remuneration. Timeline. On Feb. 18, 2001, Hanssen left a package presumably full of classified documents wrapped in trash bags underneath a bridge in Foxstone Park, then placed a piece of tape at a nearby location, indicating the drop had been made. When Eric ONeills supervisor turned up unannounced at his Washington, DC-area home early on a Sunday morning, the still-groggy FBI employee was perplexed. At least three Russian agents he identified had been executed, and it was suspected that he compromised dozens of intelligence operations. In the 15 months since her husband's arrest as a Russian spy, Bonnie Hanssen has struggled to maintain her public silence in the face of a torrent of disclosures about her life with a man she thought she knew. The actions alleged date back as far as 1985 and, with the possible exception of several years in the 1990s, continued until his arrest on Sunday. The attorney estimated that Hanssen contributed $10,000 to $20,000 to Mother Teresa in small installments over the years, although the FBI has not been able to verify the payments. This time, Mrs. Hanssen insisted that they find a cheaper place to live than Scarsdale. With two children already out of school, the pension money will help Bonnie Hanssen support two children who are in college and two more still in high school, Brookner said. 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