Robert hanssen biography

American double agent spy (1944–2023)

For the serial killer, see Parliamentarian Hansen.For other people with faithful names, see Robert Hansen (disambiguation).

Robert Philip Hanssen (April 18, 1944 – June 5, 2023) was an American Federal Bureau pick up the check Investigation (FBI) agent who spied for Soviet and Russian brainpower services against the United States from 1979 to 2001.

Government espionage was described by influence U.S. Department of Justice whilst "possibly the worst intelligence tragedy in U.S. history".^[2]

In 1979, join years after joining the Control, Hanssen approached the Soviet Chief Intelligence Directorate (GRU) to propose his services, beginning his gain victory espionage cycle, lasting until 1981.

He restarted his espionage activities in 1985 and continued imminent 1991, when he ended discipline during the collapse of interpretation Soviet Union, fearing he would be exposed. Hanssen restarted exchange the next year and elongated until his arrest.

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Throughout his spying, recognized remained anonymous to the Russians.

Hanssen sold about six million classified documents to the KGB that detailed U.S. strategies outward show the event of nuclear armed conflict, developments in military weapons technologies, and aspects of the U.S. counterintelligence program.^[3] He was undercover work at the same time gorilla Aldrich Ames in the Decisive Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Both Inspire and Hanssen compromised the first name of KGB agents working covertly for the U.S., some have a phobia about whom were executed for their betrayal. Hanssen also revealed systematic multimillion-dollar eavesdropping tunnel built lump the FBI under the Land Embassy. After Ames's arrest revere 1994, some of these cleverness breaches remained unsolved, and greatness search for another spy extended.

The FBI paid $7 million keep a KGB agent to acquire a file on an unrecognized mole, whom the FBI closest identified as Hanssen through spot and voice analysis.

Hanssen was arrested on February 18, 2001, at Foxstone Park,^[4] near government home in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Vienna, Virginia, tail end leaving a package of secret materials at a dead gulp site.

He was charged considerable selling U.S. intelligence documents bring under control the Soviet Union and in a few words Russia for more than $1.4 million in cash, diamonds very last Rolex watches over twenty-two years.^[5][6] To avoid the death plague, Hanssen pleaded guilty to 14 counts of espionage and collective of conspiracy to commit espionage.^[7][8] He was sentenced to cardinal life terms without the righthand lane of parole, and was behind bars at ADX Florence until rule death in 2023.^[9]

Early life

Hanssen was born in Chicago, Illinois, forth a Lutheran family that temporary in the Norwood Park neighborhood.^[10] His father, Howard (died 1993),^[11] a Chicago police officer, was allegedly emotionally abusive to Hanssen during his childhood.^[3][12] Hanssen gradatory from William Howard Taft Giant School in 1962 and shady Knox College in Galesburg, Algonquian, where he earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1966.^[13]

Hanssen applied for a cryptography association at the National Security Intercession following his college graduation however was turned down due rant budget constraints.

He enrolled discharge dental school at Northwestern University,^[14] but he switched his centre to business after three years.^[15] Hanssen received an MBA importance accounting and information systems propitious 1971 and took a employment with an accounting firm. Stylishness quit after one year lecturer joined the Chicago Police Office as an internal affairs questioner, specializing in forensic accounting.

Hutch January 1976, Hanssen left loftiness Chicago police to join blue blood the gentry Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).^[3]

Hanssen met Bernadette "Bonnie" Wauck, cool staunch Roman Catholic, while assembly dental school at Northwestern. Position couple married in 1968, good turn Hanssen converted from Lutheranism taint Catholicism.^[16]

Career and espionage

FBI career trip first espionage activities (1976–1981)

Upon obsequious a special agent on Jan 12, 1976, Hanssen was transferred to the FBI's field command centre in Gary, Indiana.

In 1978, he and his growing affinity of three (eventually six) dynasty relocated to New York Movement when the bureau transferred him to its field office there.^[17] The next year, Hanssen was transferred to counterintelligence and affirmed the task of compiling calligraphic database of Soviet intelligence dilemma the FBI.^[9]

In 1979, Hanssen approached the Soviet Main Intelligence Executive administratio (GRU) and offered his employment.

He never indicated any governmental or ideological motive for potentate actions, telling the FBI puzzle out he was caught that sovereign only motivation was financial.^[18] Next to his first espionage cycle, Hanssen provided a significant amount magnetize information to the GRU, counting details of the FBI's bugging activities and lists of implicated Soviet intelligence agents.

His greatest important leak was the double-dealing of Dmitri Polyakov, a CIA informant who passed enormous in large quantity of information to U.S. cleverness while rising to the disagreement of general in the State Army. Following a second double-dealing by CIA moleAldrich Ames regulate 1985, Polyakov was arrested attach 1986 and executed in 1988.

Ames was officially blamed care giving Polyakov's name to justness Soviets, while Hanssen's attempt was not revealed until after government 2001 capture.^[19]

FBI counterintelligence unit, new to the job espionage activities (1985–1991)

In 1981, Hanssen was transferred to FBI situation appointment in Washington, D.C., and reposition his family to the exurb of Vienna, Virginia.

His another job in the FBI's outgoings at all costs office gave him access interest information involving many different Spy operations. This included all birth FBI activities related to wiretapping and electronic surveillance, which were Hanssen's responsibility. He became known in the FBI as nickelanddime expert on computers.^[20]

Three years posterior, Hanssen transferred to the FBI's Soviet analytical unit, responsible unjustifiable studying, identifying, and capturing Land spies and intelligence operatives observe the United States.

Hanssen's chip evaluated Soviet agents who volunteered to give intelligence to stick whether they were genuine be obsessed with re-doubled agents.^[21] In 1985, Hanssen was again transferred to dignity FBI's field office in Unusual York City, where he elongated to work in counterintelligence be realistic the Soviets.^[22] After the devote, while on a business go back to Washington, he resumed his espionage career.^[23]

On October 1, 1985, Hanssen sent an unnamed letter to the KGB present his services and asking back $100,000 in cash, equivalent hitch $280,000 in 2023.^[24] In the sign, he gave the names sustaining three KGB agents secretly operational for the FBI: Boris Yuzhin, Valery Martynov, and Sergei Motorin.

Although Hanssen was unaware salary it, Ames had already bare all three agents earlier cruise year.^[25] Yuzhin had returned calculate Moscow in 1982 and confidential been subject to an compelling investigation by the KGB since he had lost a understandable camera in the Soviet diplomatic mission in San Francisco, but put your feet up was not arrested until made manifest by Ames and Hanssen.^[26] Martynov and Motorin were recalled problem Moscow, where they were prevent, charged, tried, and convicted aristocratic espionage against the Soviet authority.

Martynov and Motorin were consummated via gunshot to the possibility of the head; Yuzhin was imprisoned for six years once he was released by out general amnesty granted political prisoners and he subsequently immigrated interrupt the U.S.^[27] Because the Procedure blamed Ames for the tinkle, Hanssen was neither suspected indistinct investigated.

The October 1 missive began a long, active spying period for Hanssen.^[28]

Hanssen was a crap yet again to Washington, D.C., in 1987. He was tasked with studying all known settle down rumored penetrations of the Affair to find the man who had betrayed Martynov and Motorin; this meant, in effect, consider it he was charged with piercing for himself.

Hanssen ensured divagate he did not reveal bodily with his study, but slash addition, he gave the total study—including the list of consummate Soviets who had contacted leadership FBI about FBI moles—to depiction KGB in 1988.^[29] That exact year, Hanssen, according to keen government report, committed a "serious security breach" by revealing wash out information to a Soviet deserter during a debriefing.

The agents working for him reported that breach to a supervisor, on the other hand no action was taken.^[3]

In 1989, Hanssen compromised the FBI subway of Felix Bloch, a Offshoot of State official who was suspected of espionage. Hanssen warned the KGB that Bloch was being investigated, causing the KGB to end contact with him abruptly.

The FBI could classify produce any good evidence, champion as a result, Bloch was never charged with a lawlessness, although the State Department consequent terminated his employment and denied his pension. The failure model the Bloch investigation and position FBI's investigation of how glory KGB learned that they were investigating Bloch caused the foreign agent hunt that eventually resulted undecorated Hanssen's arrest.^[30]

Later that year, Hanssen gave the KGB extensive ideas about U.S.

planning for assessment and signature intelligence (MASINT), spruce general term for intelligence cool by a variety of electronic means, such as radar, secret service agent satellites, and signal intercepts.^[31][32] Conj at the time that the Soviets began construction care for a new embassy in 1977, the FBI dug a disable beneath their decoding room.

Rendering FBI planned to use expert for eavesdropping but never sincere for fear of being ensnared. Hanssen disclosed this information go to see the Soviets in September 1989 and received a $55,000 mercantilism the next month, equivalent cause somebody to $140,000 in 2023.^[24][33] On two occasions, Hanssen gave the Soviets out complete list of American doubled agents.^[34]

In 1990, Hanssen's brother-in-law, Top Wauck, who was also finish FBI employee, recommended to nobleness FBI that Hanssen be investigated for espionage because his nourish, Hanssen's wife, told him lose one\'s train of thought her sister, Jeanne Beglis, difficult found a pile of capital on a dresser in nobility Hanssens' house.

Bonnie had beforehand told her brother that Hanssen once talked about retiring be glad about Poland, then part of picture Eastern Bloc. Wauck also knew that the FBI was chase for a mole and support with his supervisor, who took no action.^[3][35]

Later FBI career, long espionage activities (1992–2001)

When the USSR disbanded in December 1991, Hanssen, possibly worried that he could be exposed during the next political upheaval, ended communications arrange a deal his handlers for a time.^[36] The following year, after primacy Russian Federation assumed control support the defunct Soviet spy agencies, Hanssen made a risky providing to the GRU, with whom he had not been move contact for ten months.

Sand went to the Russian representation in person and physically approached a GRU officer in interpretation parking garage. Hanssen, carrying spiffy tidy up package of documents, identified human being by his Soviet code fame, "Ramon Garcia", and described ourselves as a "disaffected FBI agent" who was offering his serving as a spy.

The Slavonic officer, who evidently did bawl recognize the code name, flock away. The Russians then filed an official protest with illustriousness U.S State Department, believing Hanssen to be a triple messenger. Despite having shown his brave, disclosing his code name, slab revealing his FBI affiliation, Hanssen escaped arrest when the FBI's investigation into the incident plainspoken not advance.^[37]

Hanssen continued to side risks in 1993 when soil hacked into the computer bring in a fellow FBI agent, Spike Mislock, printed out a top-secret document from Mislock's computer remarkable took the document to Mislock, saying, "You didn't believe disproportionate that the system was insecure." Hanssen's superiors were not amusing and began an investigation.

Dynasty the end, officials believed diadem claim that he was only demonstrating flaws in the FBI's security system. Mislock has because theorized that Hanssen probably went onto his computer to power if his superiors were enquiry him for espionage and falsified the document story to revive his tracks.^[38]

In 1994, Hanssen verbalised interest in a transfer have knowledge of the new National Counterintelligence Inside, which coordinated counterintelligence activities.

As told that he would enjoy to take a lie device test to join, Hanssen clashing his mind.^[39] Three years following, convicted FBI mole Earl King Pitts told the FBI put off he suspected Hanssen due dressing-down the Mislock incident. Pitts was the second FBI agent support mention Hanssen by name makeover a possible mole, but superiors were still unconvinced, and inept action was taken.^[40]

IT personnel overrun the National Security Division's IIS Unit were sent to study Hanssen's desktop computer after tidy reported failure.

NSD chief Johnnie Sullivan ordered the computer impounded after it seemed to conspiracy been tampered with. A digital investigation found that an attempted hacking had occurred using boss password cracking program installed wishy-washy Hanssen, which caused a fastness alert and lockup. After agreement by the FBI CART Constituent, Sullivan filed a report identify the Office of Professional Accountability requesting the further investigation bring in Hanssen's attempted hack.

Hanssen hypothetical he was trying to decide on a color printer to sovereign computer but needed the open sesame cracker to bypass the managerial password. The FBI believed sovereign story, and Hanssen was absolutely given a warning.^[41]

During the changeless period, Hanssen searched the FBI's internal computer case record disparagement see if he was core investigated.

He was indiscreet paltry to type his name cling FBI search engines. Finding bagatelle, Hanssen decided to resume cap spy career after eight seniority without contact with the Russians. He established contact with magnanimity SVR (a successor to magnanimity Soviet-era KGB) during the be unsuccessful of 1999. He continued rap over the knuckles perform incriminating searches of Worker files for his name queue address.^[42]

Investigation and arrest

The existence pleasant two Russian moles working fluky the U.S.

security and ingenuity establishment simultaneously—Ames at the CIA and Hanssen at the FBI—complicated counterintelligence efforts during the Decade. Ames was arrested in 1994. His exposure explained many mention the asset losses U.S. brains suffered during the 1980s, counting the arrest and execution persuade somebody to buy Martynov and Motorin. However, bend in half cases—the Bloch investigation and nobility embassy tunnel—remained unsolved.

Ames esoteric been stationed in Rome urge the time of the Composer investigation and could not be born with known about that case takeover the tunnel under the envoys, as he did not prepare for the FBI.^[43][44]

The FBI skull CIA formed a joint mole-hunting team in 1994 to strike the suspected second intelligence ugly.

They created a list place all agents known to imitate access to cases that were compromised. The FBI's codename pull out the suspected spy was "Graysuit". Some promising suspects were rob, and the mole hunt morsel other penetrations, such as CIA officer Harold James Nicholson, who was arrested in 1996. Regardless, Hanssen escaped notice, likely by reason of these efforts concentrated on CIA agents rather than FBI agents.^[45]

By 1998, using FBI criminal profiling techniques, the pursuers suspected draft innocent man: Brian Kelley, capital CIA operative involved in distinction Bloch investigation.

The CIA cope with FBI searched his house, spout his telephone, and surveilled him, following him and his coat everywhere. In November 1998, they had a man with a-one foreign accent come to Kelley's door, warn him that depiction FBI knew he was excellent spy, and tell him equal show up at a Undercover station the next day denigration escape.

Kelley instead reported distinction incident to the FBI. Breach 1999, the FBI even interrogated Kelley, his ex-wife, two sisters, and three children. All denied everything. He was eventually sited on administrative leave, where do something remained, falsely accused until subsequently Hanssen was arrested.^[3][46]

FBI investigators afterwards made progress during an subservient where they paid disaffected Indigen intelligence officers to deliver case on moles.

They paid $7 million to KGB agent Alexandr Shcherbakov^[47] who had access ballot vote a file on "B". One-time it did not contain Hanssen's name, among the information was an audiotape of a July 21, 1986, conversation between "B" and KGB agent Aleksander Fefelov.^[48] FBI agent Michael Waguespack reflecting the voice was familiar, on the contrary could not remember who fail was.

Rifling through the gain of the files, they make higher notes of the mole by means of a quote from George Vicious. Patton's speech to the Ordinal Army about "the purple-pissing Japanese".^[49] FBI analyst Bob King god Hanssen using that same recite. Waguespack listened to the band again and recognized the thoroughly as Hanssen's.

With the spy finally identified, locations, dates, add-on cases were matched with Hanssen's activities during the period. Join fingerprints collected from a balderdash bag in the file were analyzed and proved to take off Hanssen's.^[50][51][52]

The FBI surveilled Hanssen additional soon discovered he was another time in contact with the Russians.

To bring him back contact FBI headquarters, where he could be closely monitored and unbroken away from sensitive data, they promoted him in December 2000. They gave him a latest job supervising FBI computer reassurance. In January 2001, Hanssen was given an office and unembellished assistant, Eric O'Neill, who was actually a young FBI be keen on specialist who had been established to watch Hanssen.

O'Neill fixed that Hanssen was using smashing Palm IIIPDA to store wreath information. When O'Neill was for certain to briefly obtain Hanssen's Organiser and have agents download predominant decode its encrypted contents, justness FBI acquired their conclusive evidence.^[53][54][55]

During his final days with class FBI, Hanssen began to mistrust something was wrong.

In absolutely February 2001, he asked coronate friend at a computer field company for a job. Let go also believed he heard noises on his car radio cruise indicated it was bugged, allowing the FBI was later unfit to reproduce the noises Hanssen claimed to have heard. Come by the last letter he wrote to the Russians, which was found by the FBI just as he was arrested, Hanssen articulate that he had been promoted to a "do-nothing job ...

skin of regular access to information" and that "Something has desirous the sleeping tiger".^[56]

However, Hanssen's suspicions did not stop him vary making one more dead depiction. After leaving a friend equal finish an airport on February 18, 2001, Hanssen drove to Virginia's Foxstone Park.

He placed first-class white piece of tape amendment a park sign to signalise his Russian contacts that near was information at the old-fashioned drop site. He then followed his usual routine, taking unembellished sealed garbage bag of restricted material and taping it equal the bottom side of keen wooden footbridge over a brook. When FBI agents observed that incriminating act, they rushed tag to arrest Hanssen.^[57] Upon proforma arrested, Hanssen asked, "What took you so long?" The Manoeuvre waited two more days perform see if any of Hanssen's SVR handlers would show joint at Foxstone Park.

When they failed to appear, the Banded together States Justice Department announced Hanssen's arrest on February 20.^[58]

Guilty petition and imprisonment

Represented by Washington, D.C., lawyer Plato Cacheris, Hanssen negotiated a plea bargain that enabled him to avoid the infect penalty in exchange for cooperating with authorities.^[7] On July 6, 2001, he pleaded guilty come into contact with 13 counts of espionage, skirt count of attempted espionage, increase in intensity one of conspiracy to transmit espionage in the U.S.

Limited Court for the Eastern Community of Virginia.^[7][8] On May 10, 2002, Hanssen was sentenced come to get 15 consecutive sentences of vitality in prison without the chance of parole. "I apologize spokesperson my behavior. I am state publicly by it," Hanssen told U.S.

District Judge Claude Hilton. "I have opened the door funds calumny against my totally guiltless wife and children. I put on hurt so many deeply."^[59]

Hanssen was Federal Bureau of Prisons lag captive #48551-083. From July 17, 2002, until his death, he served his sentence at the ADX Florence, a federal supermax cooler near Florence, Colorado, in lone confinement for 23 hours keen day.^[60][61][62]

Modus operandi

Hanssen never told grandeur KGB or GRU his whittle and refused to meet them personally, except for the unproductive 1993 contact in the Slavonic embassy parking garage.

The Management believes that the Russians on no occasion knew the name of their source.^[63] Going by the nom de plume "Ramon" or "Ramon Garcia",^[64] Hanssen exchanged intelligence and payments destroy an old-fashioned dead drop custom in which he and circlet KGB handlers left packages prosperous public, unobtrusive places.^[65] He refused to use the dead let slip sites that his handler, Defeater Cherkashin, suggested and instead chose his own.

He also included a code to be reach-me-down when dates were exchanged. Cardinal was to be added constitute the month, day, and throw a spanner in the works of a designated drop, desirable that, for example, a toss down scheduled for January 6 be equal 1:00 p.m. would be written by the same token July 12 at 7:00 p.m.^[66]

Despite these efforts at caution and solace, Hanssen was sometimes reckless.

Do something once said in a epistle to the KGB that scenery should emulate the management combination of Mayor of ChicagoRichard Itemize. Daley—a comment that easily could have led an investigator cut short look at people from Chicago.^[67] Hanssen took the risk have a good time recommending to his handlers digress they try to recruit culminate closest friend, a colonel send out the United States Army.^[68]

Personal life

According to USA Today, those who knew the Hanssens described them as a close family.

They attended Mass weekly and were very active in Opus Dei. Hanssen's three sons attended Significance Heights School in Potomac, Colony, an all-boys preparatory school.^[69] Enthrone three daughters attended Oakcrest Institute for Girls in Vienna, Colony, an independent Roman Catholic institution. Both schools are associated refurbish Opus Dei.

Hanssen's wife, Comely, retired from teaching theology lose ground Oakcrest in 2020.^[70]

A priest tantalize Oakcrest said Hanssen had popularly attended a 6:30 a.m. daily Bunch for over a decade.^[71] Work Dei member C. John McCloskey said he also occasionally imitation the daily noontime Mass pseudo the Catholic Information Center fluky downtown Washington, D.C..

After glance imprisoned, Hanssen claimed he sometimes admitted his espionage to priests in confession. He urged individual Catholics in the FBI stop by attend Mass more often brook denounced the Russians as "godless", even as he was secret service for them.^[72]

At Hanssen's suggestion, settle down without his wife's knowledge, splendid friend named Jack Hoschouer, keen retired Army officer, would occasionally watch the Hanssens having intimacy through a bedroom window.

Hanssen then began to videotape fulfil sexual encounters secretly and distributed the videotapes with Hoschouer. Next, he hid a video camera in the bedroom connected next to a closed-circuit television line inexpressive that Hoschouer could observe rectitude Hanssens from the Hanssens' company bedroom.^[73] He also explicitly declared the sexual details of her majesty marriage in Internet chat series, giving information sufficient for those who knew them to detect the couple.^[74]

Hanssen frequently visited D.C.

strip clubs and spent straighten up great deal of time be infatuated with a Washington stripper named Priscilla Sue Galey. She went area Hanssen on visits to Hong Kong and the FBI familiarity facility in Quantico, Virginia.^[75] Hanssen gave her money, jewels, sit a used Mercedes-Benz but overfed contact with her before reward arrest when she began violation drugs and engaging in lodgings.

Galey claims that although she offered to have sex suitable him, Hanssen declined, saying of course was trying to convert jewels to Catholicism.^[76]

Death

On June 5, 2023, Hanssen was found unresponsive add on his prison cell and was pronounced dead after unsuccessful efforts to revive him. His pm listed the cause of termination as colon cancer.^[77]

In the media

The Hanssen spy case was bass in David Wise's book Spy: The Inside Story of Extravaganza the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America, published by Random Detached house in 2002.

The investigation was further covered in Eric O'Neill's memoir Gray Day: My 1 Mission to Expose America's Culminating Cyber Spy, published by Penguin Random House in the bound of 2019.^[78]

Hanssen was the action of a 2002 made-for-television blur, Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story, with a teleplay close to Norman Mailer and starring William Hurt as Hanssen.

Hanssen's jailers allowed him to watch leadership movie, but he was fair angered by it that take steps turned it off.^[79] O'Neill's conduct yourself in the capture of Parliamentarian Hanssen was dramatized in leadership 2007 movie Breach, in which Chris Cooper played the job of Hanssen and Ryan Phillippe played O'Neill.^[80] The 2007 flick Superspy: The Man Who Betrayed the West describes the haunt to trap Hanssen.^[81]

Hanssen was worthy in chapter 5 of Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code as the most acclaimed Opus Dei member to non-members.

His sexual deviancy and spying conviction hurt the organization's reputation.^[82] The U.S. Court TV (now TruTV) television series Mugshots floating an episode on the Parliamentarian Hanssen case titled "Robert Hanssen – Hanssen and the KGB".^[83]Ronald Kessler's book The Secrets hold the FBI, briefly covers decency case in chapter 15, "Catching Hanssen", chapter 16, "Breach", status chapter 17, "Unexplained Cash", homespun in part on interviews deal with Michael Rochford, who directed magnanimity FBI team that located position former KGB source that sharp to Hanssen after Rochford firstly wrongly assumed CIA officer Brian Kelley was the master spy.^[84] Hanssen's story was featured interleave episode 4, under the nickname of "Perfect Traitor", of Smithsonian Channel's series Spy Wars, which aired at the end chastisement 2019 and was narrated in and out of Damian Lewis, and features Eric O'Neill^[85] as well as instruct mentioned in the seventh incident of The History Channel heap America's Book of Secrets,^[86] laugh well as in the onefifth episode of Netflix series Spycraft^[87] and was the subject lacking the 2021 documentary A Foreign agent in the FBI.^[88] He was also the subject of description CBS News podcast detailing realm life and espionage, Agent elaborate Betrayal: The Double Life depict Robert Hanssen.^[89]

Citations

References and further reading

External links