Hanssen, Robert - Ex-FBI spy sentenced to life,...
Ex-FBI spy Hanssen sentenced to life, apologizes
May 14, 2002
Apologizing before a U.S. federal judge, former FBI agent Robert Hanssen was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole for spying for the Soviet Union and Russia.
"I apologize for my behavior," said Hanssen, 58, who looked pale and gaunt as he appeared in court. "I am shamed by it. Beyond its illegality, I have torn the trust of so many. Worse, I have opened the door for calumny against my totally innocent wife and our children. I hurt them deeply. I have hurt so many deeply."
Hanssen pleaded guilty to 15 counts of espionage and conspiracy for passing classified information to the Soviet Union and, later, Russia, during a 20-year period.
He appeared before Judge Claude Hilton in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty said the sentence should send a signal to other potential traitors.
"Robert Hanssen was trained to catch spies," McNulty said. "He was an expert at what it took to avoid being caught. And he was caught. And he was punished. And that's what will happen to anyone who betrays this country."
Earlier this week federal prosecutors had announced they would stand by a plea agreement under which they would ask for a life sentence rather than the death penalty.
Hanssen's attorney PlatoCacheris said there were a few friends but no family members at the hearing. When asked how Hanssen has changed throughout this process, Cacheris said Hanssen had lost a lot of weight in jail because the food there is poor.
When asked about Hanssen's motivations, Cacheris said the reasons are complex and noted that some reasons proffered were monetary and also involved the defendant's ego. Hanssen sold the U.S. secrets to Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
"There's a whole panoply of reasons. None of them are valid, otherwise he wouldn't be here," Cacheris said.
In a letter allegedly written by Hanssen to the Russians, he said that he was inspired as a teen by the memoirs of a British double agent, Kim Philby.
"I decided on this course when I was 14 years old," reads the letter cited in the FBI's affidavit. "I'd read Philby's book. Now that is insane, eh!"
Cacheris said the damage Hanssen's activities did to the United States was "serious," but added, "I would leave that for the intelligence community to assess.
"Obviously, this is a serious case. Otherwise, the punishment wouldn't have been as extreme as it is. There would not have been threats of the death penalty."