FBI Agent a Spy for the Russians? Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Tuesday February 20 6:26 PM ET (via yahoo) FBI Russia Spy Caused 'Grave' Damage-FBI Says By Sue Pleming WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An FBI counter-intelligence expert was charged on Tuesday with betraying Soviet double agents and selling secrets to Moscow in what experts called one of the worst espionage cases in recent U.S. history. Robert Philip Hanssen was arrested on Sunday after FBI agents watched him drop off a package of classified information at a park near his northern Virginia home, which was to be picked up by his Russian handlers. FBI director Louis Freeh said Hanssen, a 25-year FBI veteran, had access to some of the "most sensitive and highly classified information" in the U.S. government. Hanssen, 56, who has six children, was alleged to have been paid $1.4 million by the Russians in cash and diamonds. Prosecutors said he could face a possible death sentence for each of two formal charges laid against him. Formal charges filed against him at a federal court in Arlington, Virginia on Tuesday related to two incidents toward the end of the Cold War. One claimed Hanssen made available classified documents to the KGB in March, 1989 and the other said that in October 1985 he betrayed three Russian KGB agents who were also working for the United States. Freeh said Hanssen's spying continued until his arrest on Sunday with a break in the 1990s. "The criminal conduct alleged represents the most traitorous actions imaginable against a country governed by the rule of law," Freeh said. No full damage assessment had yet been made, to avoid jeopardizing the investigation, Freeh said, but added: "We believe it was exceptionally grave." Freeh displayed photographs of various drop-off locations used by Hanssen as well as a photograph Freeh said showed a package containing $50,000 in cash which had been waiting for the agent at a pick-up point in a park in Arlington. Shocked And Surprise Agents who arrested him said he seemed "shocked and surprised" when he was caught because he thought he had been so careful, Freeh said. Using the code name "Ramon," Freeh said Hanssen provided highly classified information to the KGB and its successor agency, the SVR, using encrypted communication, dead drops and other clandestine techniques. He said Hanssen independently disclosed the identity of two KGB officials who, first compromised by convicted CIA spy Aldrich Ames, had been recruited by the U.S. government at the Soviet embassy in Washington. "When these two KGB officials returned to Moscow, they were tried and convicted on espionage charges and executed," Freeh said. President George W. Bush said he was deeply disturbed by what he described as "extremely serious" allegations. On a visit to St. Louis, Bush said: "This has been a difficult day for those who love our country and especially for those who serve our country in law enforcement and the intelligence community." Bush said he had the "utmost confidence" in Freeh, contrasting with a lukewarm backing by former President Clinton for the FBI chief, who had overseen a number of investigations against Clinton. Freeh, who said he was "saddened and outraged" by the case, praised his staff for tracking down Hanssen. He announced that former CIA and FBI Director William Webster would conduct a full review to see where security had been breached. Silent And Solemn At his arraignment in federal court, Hanssen, dressed in a black turtle neck, black shirt and gray slacks and looking weary, was silent and solemn as the two charges were read out. Defense lawyer Plato Cacheris said he planned at this stage to plead not guilty, adding that his client was "emotional" and quite "upset" by the case against him. Attorney General John Ashcroft said the arrest of Hanssen should remind every American that their country was an "international target in a dangerous world." "In fact espionage operations designed to steal vital secrets of the United States are as intense today as they ever have been," Ashcroft told a news conference. In Moscow, spokesmen for both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Intelligence Service said they had no details on the case and they did not comment on matters of this type. Freeh said an internal FBI investigation began late last year after an internal intelligence audit revealed the presence of a mole in the agency. The United States then secretly obtained Russian documents that led them to suspect Hanssen. Hanssen's most recent job has been working out of FBI headquarters in Washington. His previous posts included performing surveillance on Russian government missions to the United States. He was also assigned to helping the State Department resolve a string of recent security problems, including the discovery of a listening device in a conference room that was monitored by a Russian agent in his car nearby. Freeh said the complaint against Hanssen did not allege any compromises by him at the State Department. The FBI veteran had, in fact, complained of "lost opportunities" to alert his Russian handlers that the FBI found the listening device. Hanssen is the third FBI agent in history to be arrested on charges of spying for the Russians. The others were Richard Miller, in the mid-1980s, and Earl Pitts, a lawyer who was convicted in the late 1990s. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nyteeu-02.20.01-23:33:33-32415