[38], By 1998, using FBI criminal profiling techniques, the pursuers zeroed in on an innocent man: Brian Kelley, a CIA operative involved in the Bloch investigation. The full resources of the Department of Justice will be devoted to ensuring that those persons who would betray their country and the people of the United States are prosecuted and severely punished.”, “I want to express my appreciation for the outstanding work done by the National Security Division and the Washington Field Office of the FBI in this investigation. Freeh also expressed his gratitude to Helen Fahey, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant United States Attorney Randy Bellows, and senior Justice Department officials Robert Mueller, Frances Fragos Townsend, John Dion and Laura Ingersoll for their contributions to the case.

Throughout his spying, Hanssen remained anonymous to the Russians. Pitts was the second FBI agent to mention Hanssen by name as a possible mole, but superiors were still unconvinced and no action was taken. "I have opened the door for calumny against my totally innocent wife and children. He was arrested while in the process of using a “dead drop” to clandestinely provide numerous classified documents to his Russian handler. 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. It belongs to his wife now, and … [68], The story is mentioned in Ronald Kessler's book The Secrets of the FBI, both in chapter 15, "Catching Hanssen," and chapter 16, "Breach". His new job in the FBI's budget office gave him access to information involving many different FBI operations. In January 2001, Hanssen was given an office and an assistant, Eric O'Neill, who in reality was a young FBI surveillance specialist who had been assigned to watch Hanssen. Robert Christian Hansen (February 15, 1939 – August 21, 2014), known in the media as the "Butcher Baker," was an American serial killer.Between 1971 and 1983, Hansen abducted, raped, and murdered at least 17 women in and around Anchorage, Alaska; he hunted many of them down in the wilderness with a Ruger Mini-14 and a knife. Bonnie had previously told her brother that Hanssen once talked about retiring in Poland, then part of the Eastern Bloc. [7][8] He was sentenced to 15 life terms without the possibility of parole. [58], Despite these efforts at caution and security, he could at times be reckless. Three years later, Hanssen transferred to the FBI's Soviet analytical unit, which was responsible for studying, identifying, and capturing Soviet spies and intelligence operatives in the United States.

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. He pled guilty to 15 counts of espionage on July 6, 2001 and was sentenced to prison without the possibility of parole. During this time he lived in the suburban town of Yorktown Heights north of New York City. Their actions represent counterintelligence at its very best, reflecting dedication to both principle and mission. Hanssen embraced his conversion, and went on to join the Catholic organization Opus Dei[13] with like-minded individuals.

[31], In 1994, Hanssen expressed interest in a transfer to the new National Counterintelligence Center, which coordinated counter-intelligence activities. Hanssen sold thousands of classified documents to the KGB that detailed U.S. strategies in the event of nuclear war, developments in military weapons technologies, and aspects of the U.S. counterintelligence program. Hanssen is a Special Agent of the FBI with a long career in counterintelligence.