It was not a very demanding job, said Sullivan. ThoughtCo. headquarters in a senior counterintelligence post, he told his wife that he had paid off the debt, she told the Justice Department. Annoyed at ONeills seeming incompetence, Hanssen lashed out, calling him an imbecile and a moron. Finally, he said, Well take my car, and thats final.. 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. This story has been shared 123,032 times. Therefore, after he was given a 461-year sentence for his crimes, she chose to divorce him. You can call me sir, or boss, Hanssen said. FBI agents outside Robert Hanssen's home in Virginia, Feb. 20, 2001. In fact, when his father passed away, Hansen inherited 17 guns from him as well. Christian owned a bakery and would make his son work for long hours as a kid. But in 1999, while assigned as an FBI liaison with the State Department, he once again began selling American secrets. 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. Never have we seen such a media fixation on any person accused of a crime whose religion bears . But Hanssen couldn't afford the lifestyle that he thought he deserved. 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. Darla, who had a masters degree in Education, would earn her own income by teaching learning disabled kids. On May 10, 2002, Robert Philip Hanssen was sentenced to life in prison without parole. She would then use this money to run her house and support her children. Most of all, he betrayed himself. ''I just wish somebody would say that my husband never told me he was spying,'' Mrs. Hanssen said in frustration in a telephone interview this week. The first time around, his wife divorced him after a mere half-year because of his incarceration for arson in Iowa. 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. At the time, he was assigned to counterintelligence in the F.B.I. had too readily accepted Mrs. Hanssen's version of events. Director Tenet and I have briefed the intelligence committees of Congress because of the clear national security implications. Robert Hanssen moments after being arrested. Its difficult, but its better than seeing him put to death.. He compromised the security of his country and put the lives of colleagues in danger. As Hanssen grew up, his father was reportedly verbally abusive to him, often ranting that he would never succeed in life. Out of all the lingering scandals in Washington,. 42-67.) In this assignment, however, Hanssen did continue to have access to sensitive FBI information as he remained assigned to the FBIs National Security Division and routinely dealt with sensitive and classified matters. 2:02 PM EDT, Thu April 14, 2022, FBI Agent Robert Philip Hanssen is shown in this undated file photo, released by the FBI February 20, 2001. Senior FBI officials described him as . Hanssen pled guilty to 15 counts of espionage on July 6, 2001. Literally, Hanssens colleagues and coworkers at the FBI conducted this investigation and did so quietly, securely and without hesitation. Spy's Wife Speaks, After Taking a Lie Test, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/16/us/spy-s-wife-speaks-after-taking-a-lie-test.html. The Department of Justice described his espionage as one of the worst in United States History. Hanssen appeared to be a devoted anti-communist. Since becoming Director over seven years ago, I have administered the FBI oath to each graduating class of Special Agents at the FBI Academy. At one point Hanssen spoke to a Russian agent over a pay phone, but they generally relied on placing signals in public places. In it he betrayed three Soviet officers who were working for the Central Intelligence Agency and the bureau. Robert was born in 1939 in Iowa to Danish immigrants Christian and Edna Hansen. ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- Apologizing before a U.S. federal judge, former FBI agent Robert Hanssen was sentenced Friday to . Meanwhile, the FBI had discovered medical tape and chalk Hanssens tools for signaling the Russians in the car, along with classified documents that had no business being there. ''He never said he was spying. Hansen even followed in his fathers footsteps and opened up his own bakery. The level of support and expertise from Acting Deputy Attorney General Robert Mueller, Counsel for Intelligence Policy Frances Fragos Townsend, U.S. Attorney Helen Fahey and Assistant United States Attorney Randy Bellows is superb. What we wanted to do was get enough evidence to convict him, and the ultimate aim was to catch him in the act, said Debra Evans Smith, a former deputy assistant director of the Counterintelligence Division. Hanssen would now be ONeills boss. I hate silence . Hanssen lived in suburban Virginia, was married, and had six children; he was a devout Catholic who went to Mass every week, sometimes every day. 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. He wanted to interview Hanssen for the book but was refused. ONeill needed to stall, but without arousing further suspicion. Id answer neither. For years, Hanssen stopped contacting the Russians. John Cusack plays the villain in the movie, and if youre curious to know, let me tell you that the story is inspired by the serial killer Robert Hansen. While other spies were still chasing after paper files, Hanssen had entered the digital world. 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. Robert Hanssen is a former FBI agent notorious for committing treason and selling state secrets to the Soviets (later the Russians). The FBI believed this was his signal site where the Russians would signal when they were ready to receive his intel. One might propose that I am either insanely brave or quite insane. Press Release - Veteran FBI Agent Arrested and Charged with Espionage, FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. They have committed their lives to public service and to upholding the high standards of the FBI. Here was ONeills opportunity to push Hanssen to his limits. I slammed the door behind me and slid to a halt in Hanssens office.. But money is tight, she said, and the former housewife has taken a teaching job at her daughters school in Virginia. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. News reports at the time of his sentencing said American intelligence agencies were not entirely satisfied with the extent of his cooperation and believed he was holding back information. If he gave the money from the Soviets to charity, and promised not to spy again, he would have the priest's blessing not to report the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. You know hes armed and Im not. Suit David Huband Photographer Catherine Burdon Agent Nece Assistant Eric O'Neill (right) tells in his new book how he helped. Mrs. Hanssen insists she never knew about her husband's second, far longer and more damaging stint as a spy and never saw anything that made her suspect that he had taken up with the Russians again. In this article, Hansens dynamic with his own family is discussed to give you a better insight into the life of the now-deceased murderer. Our hearts go out to them. Through Attorney General John Ashcroft, I would like to thank the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Robert P. Hanssen, the former F.B.I. His Father, Howard Hanssen, was an officer with the Chicago police department and his mother, Vivian Hanssen, was a . She visits her husband in prison regularly. Director Louis Freeh discusses the arrest of veteran FBI agent Robert Philip Hanssen on spy charges. Did you see it?. By the time O'Neill slipped into the car on that fateful Sunday morning in 2001, an FBI operation was already underway to . Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/robert-hanssen-4587832. '', See the article in its original context from. ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/robert-hanssen-4587832. Couldnt this have waited till Monday? he asked. In the letter, Hanssen revealed that he had dreamed of being a spy against his country since the age of 14, after reading a book about Kim Philby the British intelligence officer who was also a Russian double agent. Many of the questions centered on assertions made by Mrs. Hanssen's brother, Mark Wauck, an F.B.I. But something went wrong and when the two men showed up in the parking garage, the FBI car wasnt there. But the government could not prove he had lied, and wishing to avoid a public trial, the government chose not to void his plea agreement. Russian operatives left signals for Hanssen at Foxstone Park in Vienna, Va. The double agent was arrested (above right) in 2001 by the FBI after leaving intel for them under a bridge in the park. 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He lobbied his Russian masters to buy him a newer PalmPilot, with wireless Internet capabilities, which would allow the rapid transmission of encrypted messages. Hansen even notched up a few local hunting records. Alleman tasked him with purloining Hanssens PalmPilot. His tale was also made into the 2007 movie Breach.. Stahl reports that Hanssen invited his best friend to watch him. Regrettably, I stand here today both saddened and outraged. A self-taught computer expert, Hansen often encrypted his stolen files on wafer-thin disks. Hanssen, 56, was an FBI agent for 25 . TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Undated file photo released by the FBI February 20, 2001 shows a package recovered at the 'Lewis' drop site containing $50,000 cash allegedly left by Russians for FBI Agent Robert Philip Hanssen. The ensuing investigation confirmed this suspicion. May 10, 2002 - Is sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. 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. Upon becoming a special agent on January 12, 1976, Hanssen was transferred to the FBI's Gary, Indiana, field office. Apparently, even though Hansen was naturally a left-handed person, he was always forced to use his right hand, making his speech problems worse. Their goal was to catch Hanssen red handed in espionage. As alleged in the complaint, computer forensic analysis, substantial covert surveillance, court authorized searches and other sensitive techniques revealed that Hanssen has routinely accessed FBI records and clandestinely provided those records and other classified information to Russian intelligence officers. It wasnt money, thats for sure, she said, noting that the family lived in a modest home with three mortgages and drove older-model cars as they scrimped to send their children to private Catholic schools. She said she had none, and the polygraph showed no indication of deception, Ms. Brookner said. .) And there was more than a touch of obvious paranoia: My security concerns have proven reality-based, Hanssen wrote. Intelligence officials began debriefing Hanssen this week, defense attorney Preston Burton said Thursday. He happens to be Catholic. He also expressed his trademark annoyance. The Robert Hanssen Story" was released in 2002. He betrayed his wife. The plea bargain allows Bonnie Hanssen to receive about 55% of Hanssens pension, which will total an estimated $39,000 per year. As they outranked him, he didnt have much of a choice. He was arrested while in the process of using a dead drop to clandestinely provide numerous classified documents to his Russian handler. Before her May 7 polygraph test began, Justice Department investigators read Mrs. Hanssen her Miranda rights, her Washington lawyer, Janine Brookner, said. Polyakov was carefully watched by the Russians from that point on, and was eventually arrested as a spy and executed in 1988. Under Mr. Hanssen's plea bargain, she will receive the survivor's part of his bureau pension, as well as the right to keep the home. The Justice Department's inspector general has been examining the F.B.I. In January 2001, Hanssen moved into a small office in FBI Headquarters secretly outfitted with surveillance cameras and microphones. He will report directly to the Attorney General and me and we will share his report with the National Security Council and Congress. Sunday night the FBI arrested Robert Philip Hanssen who has been charged with committing espionage. Today, Mrs. Hanssen is teaching at a Catholic school in suburban Virginia and is living in the house she shared with her husband and their six children. During his sessions with investigators, Hanssen claimed his motivation had always been financial. The complaint alleges that Hanssen, using the code name Ramon, engaged in espionage by providing highly classified information to the KGB and its successor agency, the SVR, using encrypted communications, dead drops, and other clandestine techniques. 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 betrayed his children. He could sit in his office and shut the door. This is particularly timely as we move to the next generation of automation to support the FBIs information infrastructure. May 10, 2002 Posted: 11:59 AM EDT (1559 GMT) Former FBI agent Robert Hanssen. Through our cooperative efforts, the FBI and CIA were able to learn the true identity of Ramon and the FBI was able to conduct a solid investigation. Robert Hanssen (left), a 25-year career FBI man, pleaded guilty to, among other charges, 13 counts of espionage for Russia. January 30, 2003 / 4:50 PM / CBS. . Marriage: Bernadette Bonnie (Wauck) Hanssen (August 10, 1968-present), Children: Lisa, Greg, Mark, John Jack, Sue and Jane, Education: Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, A.B. January 12, 1976 - Joins the FBI as a special agent. The past few weeks have uncovered many allegations of FBI agent Robert Hanssen's betrayals: unmasking U.S. agents working in Russia and exposing a multimillion dollar American . As difficult as this moment is for the FBI and for the country, I am immensely proud of the men and women who conducted this investigation. 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. 1999 - Resumes spying, this time for the Russian Intelligence agency. (I have come about as close as I ever want to come to sacrificing myself to help you, and I get silence. But Thursday, Bonnie Hanssen issued a statement through her attorney revealing the torment that the case has caused. Instead, he ultimately became the most damaging spy in Bureau history. 40K views 2 years ago On this day February 18, 2001, Robert Hanssen was arrested and charged with committing espionage on behalf of the intelligence services of the former Soviet Union. His assistant, Eric ONeill, was tasked with keeping investigators apprised of Hanssens movements. 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. He had opportunity. They never lived the high life; they never even went out to dinner, she said. In about 1985, after they had moved back to Washington and Mr. Hanssen was working at F.B.I. 1980 - Begins working for the counterintelligence unit, focusing on the Soviet Union. 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. Before Hanssen left the position, Sullivan went to learn his new role at the Department of State. He was en route to a third spot to pick up his payment of $50,000 when he was stopped by screeching FBI vans and a slew of armed agents. By February 2001, about 300 personnel were working the investigation and monitoring Hanssen. They were finishing just as Hanssen texted that he was on his way back. The US government took the death penalty off the table in exchange for Hanssens full cooperation. He pleaded guilty to 15 counts of espionage in July 2001 and was sentenced to prison without the possibility of parole. A Justice Department spokesman, citing the inspector general's continuing review of the Hanssen case, refused to comment. He was, after all, a trained counterintelligence specialist. I never want you in my office again, Hanssen said. Home; Features; Services; About; Contact; Login; Get Free Demo Hanssen would later claim that his goal was simply to make some extra money, as living in New York City was putting a financial squeeze on his growing family. On January 12, 1976, Robert Philip Hanssen swore an oath to enforce the law and protect the nation as a newly minted FBI special agent. Hanssen was an FBI agent for 25 years, but he was also a spy for the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation . The agencies initially focused primarilyand incorrectlyon a veteran CIA case officer, who was investigated for nearly two years. A feature film called "Breach" was released in 2007. Hes also a sign of Mexicos healthcare crisis, Black residents of Jackson, Miss., blast plans by white-dominated Legislature for more state control, Spain approves menstrual leave, teen abortion and trans laws. "Robert Hanssen, FBI Agent Who Became a Soviet Mole." Intelligence. The complaint alleges that he received over $600,000. Expert interviews recount Hanssen's life, how he stayed hidden for over 20 years, and the events leading to his arrest. Heart Of Darkness. However, even though Hansen would go to church with his wife, nothing really changed. 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. He turned off the highway onto a side street, trying to persuade Hanssen that it was faster even though, as he writes, anyone who has lived in the DC area for two weeks could call bullst.. 2000 - The FBI identifies Hanssen from a fingerprint and from a tape recording supplied by a disgruntled Russian intelligence operative. As an agency, we lived up to our responsibility, regardless of how painful it might be. He began providing the Soviets with highly valuable material. In her statement, Bonnie Hanssen thanked government officials for allowing her to retain the pension and for recognizing that she and the children clearly are innocent victims.. One day, she said, she found her husband scurrying to cover up some papers in the basement of their home in Scarsdale, N.Y. For decades, the quirky but respected counterintelligence expert, religious family man, and father of six, sold top secret information to agents of the Soviet Union and Russia. In order to put the double-crosser away forever, ONeill would need to put his life on the line again. 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. A few years later, they moved to Anchorage, Alaska, and had two children. On February 18, 2001, Hanssen was arrested and charged with committing espionage on behalf of Russia and the former Soviet Union. Hansen even followed in his father's footsteps and opened up his own bakery. Hanssen received payments of $1.4 million in cash and diamonds from the information he gave the Soviet Union and Russia. Full Name: Robert Phillip Hanssen Known For: Worked as a mole for Russian spy agencies while serving as an FBI counterintelligence agent. February 18, 2001 - Is arrested in a Virginia park after making a drop of classified documents. Hanssen had a reputation for being wildly arrogant and dour. Robert Philip Hanssen, a 27 year veteran of the FBI, was a double agent. ONeill quickly replaced the items and ran out of the office. After being released, he met his second wife, Darla Henrichsen, and the pair got married in 1963. All Rights Reserved. The priest told Hanssen to stop his illegal activities and donate the money he had gotten from the Russians to charity. Children: Lisa, Greg, Mark, John "Jack," Sue and Jane. The answer shocked ONeill, then 26. I scooped the devices into my arms and sprinted for the stairway, writes ONeill, who refers to this as his one true James Bond moment. In short, the trusted insider betrayed his trust without detection. Id say insanely loyal, Hanssen wrote. 's investigation of Mr. Hanssen, the former F.B.I. "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. He was arrested in 2001 and sentenced to life without parole in federal prison in 2002 Born: April 14, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois Education: Knox College and Northwestern University, where he received an MBA While Darla suspected that he had been frequenting prostitutes, she had no idea of the literal manhunt he conducted. Midwestern Roots Hanssen was born in April 1944, the only child of a Chicago cop. Investigators learned that Hanssen was set to make a dead drop on February 18, 2001. 1979 - Begins spying for the Soviet Union. 2. In fact, her husband resumed his espionage career. The data-some 6000 pages of highly classified documents-revealed . The Hanssen case was regarded as a low point for the FBI, especially as Hanssen had been so trusted and had committed such betrayals for so many years. FBI and CIA personnel who debriefed Hanssen about his 21 years as a spy for Moscow found him a prickly, uncooperative character and won't be sorry to see him pulling hard time in a distant lock-up. The arrest of Robert Hanssen by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of counterespionage represents a major crisis for the US intelligence apparatus. A TV movie called Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story was released in 2002. Nor would many other intelligence and counterintelligence accomplishments that routinely but quietly contribute to the security of this Nation. In one letter to his Russian handlers, Hanssen complains about lost opportunities to alert them that the FBI had discovered the microphone hidden at the State Department, known then by the FBI but apparently not by Hanssen as being monitored by a Russian intelligence officer. Hanssen gave them the name of a Russian general, Dimitri Polyakov, who had been providing information to the Americans. Enraged to the point that his fist was clenched in a tight ball, Hanssen ran through his usual list of insults Idiot! But, she said, she was determined to hold her husband to the deal. 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. 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. ', Before I could blink, [Hanssen] had the lapels of my sport coat twisted in his fists and curled me up to eye level, leaving my toes tipping for balance on the floor. He reportedly told his supervisors in 1990 that he suspected that Robert Hanssen was a spy after his own wife told him that, during a visit to the Hanssen home, Mrs. Hanssen told her she had become alarmed after discovering $5,000. He then applied and was accepted into the FBI. 1981 - Is assigned to the Intelligence Division at FBI headquarters in DC. During his 15 years as an alleged Russian mole, Robert Hanssen had access to many vital . Robert Phillip Hanssen was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 18, 1944. They had two children together and were respected members of the community. Robert was described as a loner and a quiet person, and he had a strained relationship as well with his strict and dominating father. Without the current unprecedented level of trust and cooperation between the CIA and FBI, making this case would not have been possible. In court proceedings the government stated that Hanssen had been paid more than $1.4 million during his spying career, most of which he never actually received, as it was held for him in a Russian bank. Unlike Cold War spies of an earlier era, Hanssen claimed to have no political motivation for selling out his country. By the time Hanssen and ONeill returned to the office, things seemed normal. His most notorious attack was when he planted three pipe bombs filled with nails in the main square of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, killing 44-year-old Alice Hawthorne, causing a fatal heart attack for 40-year-old Melih Uzunyol, and injuring over a hundred others. He was Amazon.com's first-ever history editor and has bylines in New York, the Chicago Tribune, and other national outlets. Because of his experience and training as a counterintelligence agent, Hanssen went undetected for years, although some of his unusual activities had aroused suspicion from time to time. As Hanssen walked back to his car, the arrest team rushed up and took him into custody. McNamara, Robert. His troubles with the law continued in Anchorage as well. A moment later, a dark shadow crossed his door. Opus Dei and Hanssen: Masters of Paradox . She is also challenging some of her husbands credit card bills. 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. Or, rather, one person does. 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. 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. He was also tasked with observing and learning as much as he could about Hanssens information technology setup in his office and with keeping an eye out on who Hanssen was meeting and talking with. None of the internal information or personnel security measures in place alerted those charged with internal security to his activities. Follow. A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Joining the FBI in the height of the Cold War, Robert Hanssen dreamed of the exciting life of a spy. 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And has bylines in new York, the former F.B.I paranoia: security. The items and ran out of the internal information or personnel security measures place. Operatives left signals for Hanssen at Foxstone Park in Vienna, Va espionage career cameras and..

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