Jon Leiberman reports on how one of the FBI agent Robert Hanssen turned on his own country and how he was caught by the agency he was supposed to be helping.

Robert Hanssen, a veteran FBI counterintelligence agent, was revealed to be one of the most damaging spies in American history. For over a decade, Hanssen secretly sold classified information—including details of U.S. nuclear programs and the identities of Russian assets working for the United States—to the Soviet Union and later Russia. His espionage led to catastrophic consequences, including the arrest and execution of compromised assets.

Hanssen was eventually identified after a file from Moscow pointed to an anonymous double agent, prompting an extensive FBI investigation. Undercover operative Eric O'Neill gathered crucial evidence, including Hanssen's encrypted Palm Pilot. Hanssen was arrested after making a dead drop of classified documents and later pleaded guilty to multiple counts of espionage, receiving a life sentence. He died in prison in 2023. The case served as a stark reminder of the risks posed by trusted insiders.

How Robert Hanssen was caught

I'm John Lieberman. For years, I was a correspondent for America's Most Wanted, hunting the most dangerous fugitives in the world, helping to bring the victims and their families justice. This is the inside story of the hunt for one of America's Most Wanted criminals. This is Captured. The inside story of Robert Hanson, the FBI agent who became one of the most damaging spies in American history. Robert Hanson was a 25-year veteran of the FBI. To his colleagues, he was a quiet counterintelligence expert trusted with the nation's most sensitive secrets. But beneath that facade, Hanson was betraying his country at the highest levels, selling classified information to the Soviet Union, and later Russia, for more than a decade. Let me be clear. Individuals who commit treasonous acts against the United States will be held fully accountable. The FBI says Hanson's double life began a few years after he joined the agency. Hanson allegedly began spying for the Soviets in 1985, when in his first letter to the KGB, he volunteered information that compromised several sensitive techniques. He continued his espionage through the collapse of the Soviet Union and into the era of the Russian Federation. All the while, he remained anonymous to his handlers, using dead drops, secret locations on street corners and under bridges, to exchange information for cash, diamonds, and Rolex watches. Hanson's leaks were catastrophic. He sold more than 6,000 pages of documents, details of U.S. nuclear programs, and most tragically, the identities of Russians secretly working for the United States. Some of these assets were arrested, too, met a worse fate after being compromised. When these two KGB officials returned to Moscow, they were tried and convicted on espionage charges and executed. Despite the arrest of another infamous spy, CIA agent Aldrich Ames, in 1994, breaches continued. The FBI knew there was another mole. In 2000, a breakthrough, a file smuggled out of Moscow pointed to an anonymous double agent. The Bureau launched a massive internal investigation, deploying 300 agents to catch the traitor. Enter Eric O'Neill, a young FBI operative assigned to work undercover as Hanson's aid. O'Neill's mission? Gather evidence without tipping off his boss. The turning point came when O'Neill secretly acquired Hanson's Palm Pilot, which contained an encrypted schedule of dead drops, the smoking gun that would bring him down. February 18th, 2001, a cold Sunday morning in Foxton Park, Vienna, Virginia. Hanson walked onto a bridge, placed a package of classified documents under it, his signature dead drop for the Russians. As he returned to his car, FBI SWAT teams moved in. The FBI and the Justice Department announced the arrest. The FBI moved swiftly and discreetly to effect the arrest. Today's announcement is a result of their professionalism, skill, judgment, and dedication. Hanson was charged with espionage. The indictment listed 21 counts, including conspiracy to commit espionage and attempted espionage. The Justice Department said he caused grave injury to the security of the United States. Since becoming director over seven and a half years ago, I've ministered the FBI oath of office to over 4,600 special agents of the FBI. Regrettably, I stand here today both saddened and outraged. The FBI agent who raised his hand and spoke those words over 25 years ago has been charged today with violating that oath in the most egregious and reprehensible manner possible. To avoid the death penalty, Hanson pleaded guilty to 15 counts of espionage and conspiracy. He was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms without parole, spending the rest of his life in solitary confinement at ADX Florence, Colorado. He died in prison in 2023. The Robert Hanson case was a wake-up call for American intelligence, a reminder that sometimes the most dangerous traitors are those we trust the most. I'm John Lieberman for Scripps News Group. This is CAPTURED.

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