Just then the door buzzed, indicating Hanssens return. The plea bargain spared Hanssen the death penalty. 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. 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. Robert Philip Hanssen had drifted through several false starts in life before he settled in at the FBI. Another government official confirmed that Mrs. Hanssen was given a polygraph test and said she had passed it. She said that her husband is ''doing about as well as can be expected,'' and that ''he is very relieved that I have the pension. An FBI Agent who raised his right hand and spoke those words over 25 years ago has been charged today with violating that oath in the most egregious and reprehensible manner imaginable. His target would be Robert Hanssen, a 25-year FBI veteran that the bureau suspected might be the most treacherous and damaging double agent in US history. By Sherri Day. Among the files was a letter from Hanssen to the Russians arranging to meet. The investigation of Hanssen was conducted by the FBI in partnership with the CIA, the Department of State, and, of course, the Justice Department. 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. 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.. Id answer neither. In his new book, Gray Day: My Undercover Mission to Expose Americas First Cyber Spy (Crown), ONeill tells his story of risking his life in 2001 to bring down the operative. You can call me sir, or boss, Hanssen said. 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.) Hanssen parked on a residential street and walked down a wooded path to a footbridge with the classified materials wrapped in a plastic bag. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. She told Sergeant Flothe (the man who played a pivotal role in Hansens capture) that their income streams were separate and that Hansen would spend the money from the bakery on his own needs. Unlike Cold War spies of an earlier era, Hanssen claimed to have no political motivation for selling out his country. Chicago Tribune July 4, 2001. 2000 - The FBI identifies Hanssen from a fingerprint and from a tape recording supplied by a disgruntled Russian intelligence operative. Hanssen was the son of a police officer. Blood rushed to my face. Mr. Hanssen agreed, and his wife, pregnant with their fourth child, was relieved. He looked the quintessential suburban dad, devoted to his wife and six kids, working a government job to. Warmer storms could cause problems, Jaguars, narcos, illegal loggers: One mans battle to save a jungle and Maya ruins, Dr. Simi is a TikTok star. (2020, August 28). Many of the questions centered on assertions made by Mrs. Hanssen's brother, Mark Wauck, an F.B.I. 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. The crimes alleged are an affront not only to his fellow FBI employees but to the American people, not to mention the pain and suffering he has brought upon his family. Our hearts go out to them. Upon becoming a special agent on January 12, 1976, Hanssen was transferred to the FBI's Gary, Indiana, field office. Asked what Bonnie Hanssen thinks may have motivated her husband, Brookner said: Who knows? One reason for her frustration may be that some government officials were apparently not convinced of her story. Although his name was not specifically mentioned, evidence in the file pointed to Hanssen, who was put under close surveillance. Alleman explained to ONeill that the smoking gun would be an actual information drop for the Russians. His case is considered one of America's greatest intelligence failures, as Hanssen operated as a mole within the bureau's counterintelligence division, the highly sensitive part of the FBI tasked with tracking foreign spies. His father served on the police force in Chicago and was serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II when Hanssen was born. Two and a half years ago, the FBI arrested Robert Hanssen, a 22-year veteran of the bureau, for selling secrets to Russia. Without the current unprecedented level of trust and cooperation between the CIA and FBI, making this case would not have been possible. In short, the trusted insider betrayed his trust without detection. After working in the FBI division that developed secret listening devices, Hanssen was again placed in a position to track Russian agents operating in the United States. Hanssen, 56, was an FBI agent for 25 . But Brookner said Hanssens family was never the beneficiary of any spy money and that Bonnie Hanssen has no idea what happened to the proceeds from his spying, including $800,000 that authorities say the Russians deposited for him in a Moscow bank. Hanssen would now be ONeills boss. Christopher Burgess / Feb 18, 2021. That effort is complemented by substantial FBI proactive investigation of foreign service intelligence officers here and by the critical work done by the CIA. The Hanssens are active members of Opus Dei, a conservative Catholic group. I have asked Judge William H. Webster, and he has graciously agreed, to examine thoroughly the internal security functions and procedures of the FBI and recommend improvements. The FBI believed this was his signal site where the Russians would signal when they were ready to receive his intel. ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- Apologizing before a U.S. federal judge, former FBI agent Robert Hanssen was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole for spying for the Soviet Union and. To get Hanssen back to FBI Headquarters where he could be closely monitored, Neil Gallagher, assistant director of the National Security Division at the time, called Hanssen to inform him of a bogus assignment to serve on his staff as a special assistant for a technology project. 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. ONeill, 46, left the FBI in May 2001. Troubled by the incident, Bonnie Hanssen made her husband speak with a Catholic priest, who directed him to contribute money to Mother Teresa, the Catholic nun who ran a Calcutta charitable organization, as a form of penance, Brookner said. Once he got caught, the only thing he cared about was trying to provide for his wife and his children, who visit him regularly in prison, Brookner said. He spied for the Soviets . The Justice Department's inspector general has been examining the F.B.I. The astonishing letter gave the FBI what it had long sought definitive proof that Hanssen was the spy who had been betraying them since 1985, doing colossal damage to the USs counterintelligence capabilities by, among other things, revealing the identities of their undercover agents. Robert J. McNamara is a history expert and former magazine journalist. 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 January 2001, Hanssen moved into a small office in FBI Headquarters secretly outfitted with surveillance cameras and microphones. Hanssen was an FBI agent for 25 years, but he was also a spy for the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation . Director Tenet and I have briefed the intelligence committees of Congress because of the clear national security implications. Since he held key counterintelligence positions, he had authorized access to classified information. On May 10, 2002, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Full Name: Robert Phillip Hanssen Known For: Worked as a mole for Russian spy agencies while serving as an FBI counterintelligence agent. He and his wife relocated to Anchorage, Alaska in 1967. Written by on 27 febrero, 2023. They bought a modest, three-bedroom home in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., north of New York City. In the early 1980s, Hanssen was transferred to FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. To his colleagues in the bureau he seemed to be a model agent. At least three Russian agents he identified had been executed, and it was suspected that he compromised dozens of intelligence operations. In fact, he had already betrayed one of the United States' most important agents: Gen. Dmitri Polyakov of the G.R.U. Robert Hanssen, a church-going family man and FBI agent for 25 years, was actually working as a Soviet spy for well over 20 years. FBI leadership decided Hanssen needed to be removed from his temporary position and brought back to FBI Headquarters. Because of these coordinated efforts, the FBI was able to secure original Russian documentation of an American spy who appeared to the FBI to be Hanssen a premise that was soon to be confirmed when Hanssen was identified by the FBI as having clandestinely communicated with Russian intelligence officers. He began to make small payments over several years to a charity affiliated with Mother Teresa's Catholic organization, moving the family close to bankruptcy, Mrs. Hanssen told the Justice Department investigators. A few years later, they moved to Anchorage, Alaska, and had two children. During his second round of dealing with Russian agents, Hanssen was much more cautious. Even without knowing who he was or where he worked, Hanssens value to the Russians was clear both by the substantial sums of money paid and the prestigious awards given to their own agents for Hanssens operation. Sullivan noted that Hanssen spent a lot of time trolling ACS for information.