Johnston, David, and James Risen. "U.S. Had Evidence of Espionage,
but F.B.I. Failed to Inspect Itself." New York Times, 23 Feb.
2001. [http://www.nytimes.com]Materials presented chronologically.
Johnston, David, and James Risen. "U.S. Had Evidence of Espionage,
but F.B.I. Failed to Inspect Itself." New York Times, 23 Feb.
2001. [http://www.nytimes.com]
According to current and former government officials, U.S. intelligence for a number of years "had evidence that Russia had a significant pipeline from the United States government, yet the F.B.I. failed to conduct a rigorous internal review of its own personnel."
Masters, Brooke A., and Vernon Loeb. "CIA Officer Had Been Focus of Spy Probe." Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2001, A1. [http://www.washingtonpost.com]
"Until FBI investigators targeted Robert P. Hanssen as a possible Russian spy late last year, they focused on a covert CIA officer who now may be cleared as a result of Hanssen's arrest, sources close to the case said [on 22 February 2001]. The CIA officer has been on paid leave since August 1999 while the FBI has investigated whether he was a Russian spy.... The CIA officer is an agency veteran who formerly served in the military and worked in New York on Russian counterintelligence issues, sources said.... Now that Hanssen has been charged as a Russian spy, authorities are attempting to determine whether to clear the initial suspect and put him back to work."
Eggen,
Dan, and David A. Vise. "To Russia, With Longing." Washington
Post, 24 Feb. 2001, A1. [http://www.washingtonpost.com]
"[A] spy's success still often depends on the psychologically complicated relationship with a foreign patron. That bond is clearly evident in the case of [Robert Philip] Hanssen,... whose alleged illicit correspondence is part spy tale and part Valentine." A 109-page affidavit filed "in U.S. District Court, as well as statements by FBI Director Louis J. Freeh and other U.S. officials, portray a tangled and, at times, almost intimate relationship between Hanssen and his .. 'handlers.' What began as an alliance solely on Hanssen's terms became, over time, a murkier compact, a dance between two parties united in suspicion and dependent on trust."
Loeb,
Vernon, and Walter Pincus. "Bush to Speed Clinton Spy Changes."
Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2001, A4. [http://www.washingtonpost.com]
"In the wake of the Robert P. Hanssen spy case, the Bush administration intends to swiftly carry out recommendations left by President Clinton for a government-wide reorganization of counterintelligence efforts, senior U.S. officials said" on 23 February 2001. "Both FBI Director Louis J. Freeh and CIA Director George J. Tenet have strongly endorsed David Szady, a counterintelligence expert now serving as special agent in charge of the FBI's field office in Portland, Ore., to fill the post" of "national counterintelligence executive." The position would "oversee counterintelligence spending by all federal agencies and ... identify the most important technologies, weaponry and other national assets that must be protected from foreign spies."
Risen, James.
"Spy-Hunt Team Followed Trail to F.B.I. Agent."
New York Times, 24 Feb. 2001. [http://www.nytimes.com]
According to officials on 23 February 2001, a joint FBI-CIA "mole hunting" unit "established in 1994 to identify the source of a series of damaging intelligence losses played a crucial role in the counterespionage probe that led to the arrest" of Robert Philip Hanssen.
Gordievsky, Oleg. "What Makes the Double Agent Tick." telegraph.co.uk, 25 Feb. 2001.
This is the former KGB officer's take on Robert Hanssen. He suggests that the "most important component" in Hanssen's "survival as a spy ... was his decision never to meet anyone from the KGB face to face.... Hanssen's caution ensured that he never attracted any attention from the FBI's molehunters.... [H]is survival in a position where the usual life-span is measured in months rather than years is a testament to his toughness."
Masters,
Brooke A., and Walter Pincus. "FBI Left Hanssen an Opening as His Debts
Mounted." Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2001, A2. [http://www.washingtonpost.com]
According to court documents and sources revealed on 27 February 2001, "[t]he FBI gave alleged spy Robert P. Hanssen an opening by failing to monitor the mail of known KGB officers and may have ignored evidence that he was running up large debts over the past decade."
Risen, James,
and Philip Shenon. "Accused Spy Suspected Loss
of Access to Secrets, Prosecutors Say." New York Times,
28 Feb. 2001. [http://www.nytimes.com]
"A Russian intelligence source warned the United States in the mid-1990's that Moscow had a spy inside the Federal Bureau of Investigation.... The tip from the Russian official prompted the F.B.I. to briefly begin a counterintelligence inquiry within its own ranks, officials said. But the investigation was abandoned after the same Russian source returned, several months later, and told the Americans that Moscow's agent was in the Central Intelligence Agency, not the F.B.I."
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