The incredible true story of a high-ranking intelligence officer, Robert Hanssen, who betrays US secrets to foreign powers, and the young FBI agent tasked with capturing him. Based on witness testimony and official case records that remained secret until now, it's about betrayal from within, by a traitor believed to be a friend. In the secret world of counter intelligence, one fear looms larger than all others.
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00:00In the secret world of counterintelligence, one fear looms larger than all others.
00:08Betrayal from within, by a traitor you believe is a friend.
00:14How dare you? How could you do that to us? We are all in this fight together.
00:19Suspicion points to a key figure in western intelligence, trading secrets worth billions of dollars, causing damage on a global scale.
00:30This man betrayed secrets, leading to the darkest day in American history, September 11th.
00:37This is the inside story of the hunt to trap the most damaging spy of all time.
00:48It has remained secret, until now.
01:00Washington, D.C.
01:08Washington, D.C.
01:11In the heart of the city, there's a spy, among the very people charged with protecting the nation, the FBI.
01:19The traitor must be uncovered, but who can carry out such a delicate task?
01:26The case was a little different than what I had done in my background.
01:32Eric O'Neill isn't sure what he's taking on. There's no manual for a mission like this.
01:40I had been working on the street and was told that there was a temporary duty assignment to headquarters to work undercover on a potential target.
01:56It was very tense from the beginning. One of the largest cases the FBI had worked in their history.
02:02So you can imagine the pressure right from the start.
02:05O'Neill, with only four years experience at the FBI, has been handpicked for perhaps the most sensitive and secret operation ever mounted.
02:15No one at headquarters was to know, except for a very few select people.
02:20It's the climax of an operation which has been underway for nearly two decades.
02:29I didn't want to be the single guy in this chain of people who had been looking for this target for years, who screwed it up.
02:41O'Neill's target is a spy, working deep undercover.
02:46A double agent, with access to the highest levels of the CIA and other agencies.
02:52The code name assigned to the unknown traitor is Greysuit.
02:57The hunt for the mysterious Greysuit goes back to as early as 1985.
03:05This former White House security advisor is a 23-year veteran of the FBI.
03:11You had things going wrong that you couldn't explain, technical programs, human sources compromised.
03:17What is going wrong? What are the anomalies?
03:21There was very heavy surveillance in Moscow.
03:26The former chief of U.S. security served when Greysuit was most active.
03:32It could have been an interception of communication.
03:36And then you work your way through to the bottom line, the unthinkable line, that there's a mole.
03:46It's the nightmare scenario. The spycatchers have a spy in their midst.
03:53You start making lists of people and indications of what has gone wrong.
03:58And you're looking then for tells that says, well, the only number of people that could have known this are X.
04:04Who's the common denominator?
04:07They really were very frustrated because they knew they had a problem and they couldn't find it.
04:13This intelligence specialist is an expert on the case.
04:18Information that was available only to those who would be at the highest levels of security clearance,
04:25had fallen into the hands of the Russians.
04:28The heads of U.S. security order a new approach.
04:32They'll attempt to buy the traitor's name.
04:36They said, let it be known within the Russian intelligence community,
04:41you could become a millionaire with American intelligence if you could help them uncover who their mole was.
04:47The search for Greysuit's identity leads here, to Moscow.
04:52But who's going to talk, knowing the consequences if they're caught?
04:58The man would be arrested, charged with treason and shot.
05:03There were no other options.
05:06Oleg Kalugin was a senior KGB spy handler.
05:11Soviet intelligence were highly dedicated people.
05:15They were driven by communist ideology.
05:18Most people were very loyal and they would never betray.
05:23That loyalty will now be put to the test.
05:33Analysts draw up a short list of five names from the very highest ranks of the KGB.
05:41Even today, their identity is a closely guarded secret.
05:45Agents from the Greysuit task force fly to Russia.
05:49And in a series of clandestine meetings, they make their pitch.
05:54A fortune and a new life for a name.
05:59Initially, they were turned down.
06:02In Russia, it's much harder than it would be in the West
06:06to get someone to betray his country in exchange for a name.
06:10Still, they persevere.
06:13And now, they strike gold.
06:17A KGB boss offers something even better than Greysuit's name.
06:24To their great surprise, he said,
06:27how would you like the entire operational file for this case out of KGB archives?
06:32It appears that when the Soviet Union was collapsing in 1991,
06:37he said, this is an interesting retirement plan.
06:40Let me borrow these files, put them in a secure location,
06:43and maybe they'll be of value someday.
06:46And literally, they remain hidden for almost 10 years
06:49before the U.S. government comes calling in 2000.
06:53In the meantime, Greysuit is trying to find a way out.
06:56They remain hidden for almost 10 years
06:59before the U.S. government comes calling in 2000.
07:03And that's when he said, yep, I have those files for you, if you want them.
07:11The price tag for the Greysuit file?
07:14$7 million.
07:16Relative to the billions of dollars in secrets
07:19that had been stolen by Greysuit,
07:22it was an insignificant sum.
07:27The file is smuggled out of Russia.
07:31The contents will be analysed at FBI headquarters.
07:41Now they'll discover whether those millions were well spent.
07:46It takes your breath away.
07:48It is the entire operational files.
07:51And so you're reading exactly what was said
07:54and you're reading exactly what the Russians are saying to their mole
07:58and what the mole is saying to them,
08:00and where the dead drops are,
08:02the methods of communication,
08:04what he had given them,
08:06the letters that had been written both ways.
08:08Greysuit has betrayed secrets more damaging
08:11than anyone had even suspected.
08:14He compromises the CIA.
08:17He compromises the entire double agent program
08:20run by the U.S. government for over 10 years.
08:25The most damaging thing that he did
08:28was to identify the people that we had recruited
08:32on the other side.
08:35Greysuit is ruthless and cold-blooded.
08:40To protect his own identity,
08:42he's betrayed Russian agents
08:44who were secretly working for the United States.
08:50The KGB response to traitors in their ranks
08:52was swift and decisive.
08:55Our most precious assets were promptly executed.
09:01The full damage assessment must wait.
09:04First, they need to identify the traitor within.
09:11The file purchased from Russia
09:14shows that Greysuit has concealed his identity
09:17even from his KGB handlers.
09:19He uses the code name,
09:20Ramon.
09:23One of the items that was recovered
09:25from the KGB was a tape recording
09:28of a conversation between the spy
09:33and the Russian handlers.
09:39I prepared the papers
09:41and I left them on the table.
09:43I see.
09:45What the hell is that?
09:47You shouldn't worry.
09:48You shouldn't worry.
09:50Everything is okay.
09:52Good.
09:54Much to the horror
09:56and much to the dismay
09:58of the senior brass at the FBI,
10:01I believe that should be fine.
10:03And thank you very much.
10:05the voice on that tape
10:07was one of their own.
10:13I suggest that our meeting
10:15will take place on February 13th,
10:161-3-1 p.m., okay?
10:18I believe that should be fine.
10:20And thank you very much.
10:22It's Bob Hanson.
10:26It's Bob Hanson.
10:28The people in that room knew,
10:30oh my God, of all the people
10:32that you want to have a spy,
10:34this is about the worst news
10:36that you could have.
10:38The voice is that of Robert Hanson,
10:40an FBI special agent
10:42for 25 years.
10:44This guy was
10:46an incredible
10:48counterintelligence agent,
10:50and here I was working
10:52intelligence against him.
10:55Tasking rookie agent Eric O'Neill
10:57with close surveillance
10:59is a huge gamble by the FBI.
11:03I didn't have a background
11:05in undercover
11:07James Bond-type operations.
11:09They wanted someone
11:11who was more of a novice.
11:13They fear using
11:14a more experienced agent
11:16will put Hanson on the alert.
11:18Bob Hanson.
11:20Good to meet you, sir.
11:22Good to meet you, Eric.
11:24Have a seat.
11:26Sure.
11:28Well, welcome to
11:30Information Resources Division.
11:32Good to be aboard.
11:34Hanson is a data systems expert.
11:36As a cover story
11:38to explain his new assistant,
11:40he's been promoted
11:42to a top-level job
11:44that will allow him
11:46to become the professor
11:48and open himself up to me.
11:50That's me.
11:52That's my wife, Bonnie.
11:54That's the 27-year-old.
11:56Robert Hanson's
11:58suburban existence
12:00in Vienna, Virginia
12:02seems far removed
12:04from the twilight world
12:06of international espionage.
12:08Here's where Hanson
12:10and his wife
12:12have brought up six children.
12:14His wife, Bonnie,
12:16teaches at a Catholic girl's school.
12:21I knew Bob Hanson
12:23since 1980.
12:25Now, Bob Hanson
12:27is not what I would call
12:29a guy-guy.
12:31I wouldn't have gone
12:33running with him,
12:35I wouldn't have gone
12:37out drinking with him,
12:39I wouldn't have gone
12:41to a football game with him.
12:42He was one of the best
12:44FBI agents I ever met.
12:47It's a fine family, sir.
12:49Well, we try, we try.
12:51Bob, by the way, call me Bob.
12:53Hanson was certainly
12:55very intelligent,
12:57but he had an over-inflated
12:59sense of his brilliance,
13:01and he believed that
13:03anything he had to say
13:05was incredibly important
13:07and everyone should listen.
13:09Well, Neil,
13:10do you go to church?
13:12Yeah, every Sunday.
13:14How about you?
13:16Oh, I go to St. Catharine's myself.
13:21Hanson is deeply devout.
13:24His church is one of the most
13:26traditional,
13:28where mass is said in Latin.
13:31He attends at 6.30 each morning
13:33and is a member of the
13:35Catholic group Opus Dei,
13:37favoured by many of the
13:38religious leaders of the time.
13:40Anybody who knew Bob Hanson
13:42and were trying to make a list
13:44of who the subjects was
13:46would not have put Bob Hanson
13:48on the list if there were
13:50a thousand people.
13:52Above and beyond speaking with him
13:54and getting him to open up,
13:56I was looking for
13:58electronic devices,
14:00I was looking for
14:02logbooks he might keep,
14:04I was looking for a diary
14:06if we were really, really lucky.
14:08I didn't worry him
14:10or even raise the level of concern
14:12to the point where he thought,
14:14well, I don't know that
14:16I'm under surveillance,
14:18but I don't think I'm going
14:20to take the risk.
14:22I did know that he was
14:24armed frequently.
14:26He was somewhat of a gun fanatic.
14:28We were also in a soundproof room
14:30where it would not be too difficult
14:32to shoot me and then close
14:34the door behind him,
14:36and it could be sometime
14:38when he would be fine.
14:40Thank you very much.
14:42Can a few crackly words on tape
14:44prove this 25-year servant
14:46of the state is the traitor
14:48Gray Suit?
14:54The file from Russia yields
14:56a second remarkable discovery.
14:58There was something else
15:00that was very interesting,
15:02a black garbage bag.
15:04The bag once contained documents
15:06left for the Russians.
15:14Gray Suit,
15:16who had been very, very careful
15:18with his spy craft,
15:20made one critical error.
15:22The garbage bag yields
15:24evidence of fingerprints
15:2615 years old.
15:28But whose are they?
15:30The moment of truth will come
15:31when the prints of Robert Hansen
15:33are compared with those
15:35of Gray Suit.
15:41The immediate reaction
15:43by some people
15:45is that the KGB was setting
15:47Bob Hansen up,
15:49that somehow they had gotten
15:51his thumbprint and they had
15:53placed it on there
15:55to protect the real Moe.
15:57It would be very easy
15:59for the target to say,
16:01well, I've worked for
16:03a number of years,
16:05I've worked counterintelligence,
16:07why wouldn't they want to hurt me?
16:09They could do a bit of
16:11double-crossing and frame me
16:13and set me up.
16:15And I have done any number
16:17of communications over to
16:19targets I've tried to turn
16:21in Russia and become our spy,
16:23so why wouldn't there
16:25be a voice recording?
16:27They were particularly anxious
16:29to make sure the case
16:31would have the evidence
16:33on its authenticity
16:35as to how they got it,
16:37who they got it from,
16:39all issues that they probably
16:41would not want to disclose.
16:43We didn't have enough to go
16:45for more than conspiracy
16:47to commit espionage,
16:49which would have gotten
16:51a maximum of 25 years
16:53and that would have been
16:55the end of the story.
16:57We wanted to commit
16:59to catching him in the act.
17:01If Hansen is convicted
17:03of committing espionage,
17:05Hansen will face
17:07not just incarceration,
17:09but execution.
17:11A powerful persuader.
17:15Hansen's new job
17:17gives him free access
17:19to the innermost secrets
17:21of the FBI.
17:23It's a bold strategy
17:25to trap him.
17:27In essence,
17:29they were giving him
17:31a chance to go down
17:33to the data room,
17:35go look at the FBI supercomputers,
17:37see where everything is
17:39and have full access
17:41in the hope that he would
17:43take some of the information
17:45to the Russians
17:47so that we could catch him.
17:49We really needed
17:51to catch him in the act
17:53and we needed to get him
17:55to do a drop.
17:57We'll see you Thursday
17:59by 9 o'clock.
18:01I'll see you in a few minutes.
18:26My job was to look for places
18:28that he might hide information
18:29that might give us a heads up
18:31for a drop date
18:33when he's going to clandestinely
18:35pass secrets to the other side.
18:43The room has been rigged
18:45with a secret surveillance camera.
18:48I had a pager
18:50to let me know that,
18:52hey, you're in the office
18:54and Hansen's on his way.
19:00He was the sort of person
19:02who if someone's moved a staple
19:04or a fraction of an inch,
19:06you know they've done it.
19:17In any instance
19:19where you are a bad guy
19:21and you're worried
19:23that the good guys
19:25might try to catch you,
19:27you have to have some concerns
19:29about the drop.
19:33I was face-to-face with him
19:35and he said,
19:37look Eric,
19:39the spy is always
19:41in the worst possible place
19:43where he can do the most damage
19:45and gain access to the information
19:47he needs to do that damage.
19:49And he said,
19:51I call this Hansen's law
19:53and it's the first rule
19:55you need to know
19:57when you go into
19:58a place like this.
20:01Now O'Neill is worried.
20:05Does Hansen realize
20:07that he's under suspicion?
20:09Another worry was that he might flee.
20:12We had information
20:14that he may have
20:16a fake passport
20:18and driver's license
20:20and those sort of documents
20:22that could get him overseas
20:24without us knowing.
20:26If Hansen is indeed
20:28under suspicion,
20:30he may be able
20:32to escape.
20:34The Russian file
20:36reveals an ingenious system
20:38of dead drops,
20:40like a mailbox
20:42for exchanging secrets and cash
20:44located in public parks.
20:46Each is given a code name.
20:51One of them is close
20:53to Hansen's home in Vienna.
20:56Foxton Park,
20:59Here,
21:01Gray's suit came
21:03taking a package
21:05that looked like this
21:07and it had classified material in it.
21:09And he would take the package
21:11and place it underneath the bridge
21:13and then an intelligence officer
21:15from the Russian intelligence service
21:17could come at a later date
21:19and pick it up
21:21and they would never be
21:23at the same place
21:25at the same time.
21:26A piece of tape
21:28placed vertically
21:30means it's time to make a drop.
21:32Turned horizontally,
21:34it means the drop has been made.
21:37These very simple methodologies
21:39are brilliant
21:41because there's no electronic trail,
21:43there's no way to track them.
21:45Once it's happened, it's happened.
21:47If I call you,
21:49it could be wiretapped.
21:51If I use a computer,
21:53I can monitor that.
21:54But it works.
21:57Gray's suit also
21:59developed a system
22:01to mislead anyone
22:03who might intercept communications
22:05between himself and the Russians.
22:07And the simple system
22:09was to subtract the number six
22:11from the month and the day
22:13that he was to leave documents
22:15for the Russians.
22:17So let's go to the month of September.
22:19It's the ninth month of the year.
22:21And let's go to the ninth day.
22:22What he really would mean
22:24is 3-3 or March the 3rd.
22:27Subtracting six from the month,
22:29subtracting six from the day,
22:31and March 3 would be
22:33the time of the dead drop.
22:40The start of Eric O'Neill's
22:42second week on assignment.
22:44And the evidence linking
22:46Robert Hansen and Gray's suit
22:48begins to build.
22:50The FBI keeps a highly
22:52confidential internal database
22:54called the case system,
22:56listing current investigations.
23:00When you're going to work a guy,
23:02you log in that you're going to work him.
23:04That way nobody's stepping
23:06on each other's toes.
23:09On January the 22nd,
23:11Hansen goes into the system.
23:16He types Foxton
23:18and dead drop.
23:23Is there an investigation
23:25with those keywords
23:27anywhere in the system?
23:43The ultra-secret Gray suit case
23:44has been deliberately
23:46kept out of the database.
23:49Hansen finds nothing.
23:51But why was he looking?
23:53The fact that Hansen
23:55checked the case system
23:57suggested to us
23:59that there's something
24:01going on here.
24:03The next day,
24:05investigators' suspicions
24:07harden still further.
24:09A tracking device
24:11has been hidden inside
24:12Hansen's car.
24:16At 5.50 p.m.,
24:18he approaches the entrance
24:20to Foxton Park.
24:33Three days later,
24:35the same thing.
24:37Is he looking for a sign?
24:40Is he about to make
24:42a dead drop?
24:46The concern and worry
24:48were obviously heightened.
24:50The net was tightened.
24:54The pressure to come up
24:56with hard evidence
24:58and quickly is now intense.
25:00On the 30th of January,
25:02agents make a thorough
25:04search of Hansen's car.
25:07We have found
25:09a number of things
25:10that will let us know
25:12that this is a bad guy.
25:14He had weapons
25:16in the back of his trunk,
25:18but he also had things
25:20like plastic bags
25:22and tape,
25:24the sorts of things
25:26that you use
25:28when you're going to
25:30mark signal sites.
25:32There are stolen documents, too,
25:34detailing FBI
25:36counterintelligence operations.
25:38Instead of being seized,
25:40he's planning a drop
25:42where he can be caught red-handed.
25:48Now the investigation
25:50moved into an incredibly
25:52high gear.
25:54Now we knew that
25:56this target was no longer
25:58a target.
26:00He was the spy.
26:04Once they know that,
26:06you've now got to
26:08concentrate on him
26:10and look at his opinion,
26:12look at every aspect of his life.
26:15Hansen's house
26:17on Talisman Drive
26:19is placed under 24-hour surveillance.
26:21The FBI
26:23actually,
26:25they purchased a house
26:27just across the street
26:29and they installed
26:31very sophisticated
26:33video and audio
26:35surveillance devices
26:37so they could follow
26:38the person's actions.
26:40The view into another person's life
26:42is almost complete.
26:46Hansen's list of acquaintances
26:48is also scrutinized.
26:54His closest friend
26:56and frequent house guest
26:58is Jack Hoshauer,
27:00a U.S. Army veteran.
27:05You're going to try
27:06and get in touch with
27:08everyone he's in contact with.
27:11His home phone is monitored,
27:13his cell phone's monitored,
27:15his keystrokes on his computer.
27:17The image of a loyal FBI agent,
27:19a devoted family man,
27:21now appears no more
27:23than a disguise.
27:25Hansen posted
27:27obscene and pornographic stories
27:29about his own wife,
27:31Bonnie,
27:33on the Internet.
27:34She would wake up
27:36an hour in the mornings
27:38and sit perched
27:40on a high stool
27:42in front of her dresser mirror
27:44to do her hair
27:46while still naked.
27:48She was stimulated
27:50enormously
27:52by situations
27:54where she might be seen
27:56naked by other men.
28:00This case is not just about spying.
28:01It's a special study
28:03of the Hansen case.
28:05This case is about betrayal
28:07on every level,
28:09from the oath that an FBI agent
28:11takes to his country
28:13to betrayal of his wife.
28:15And he also betrayed himself.
28:22Hansen's innocent-seeming
28:24evenings with an old friend
28:26have a much darker purpose.
28:32Hey, it will be.
28:37Bizarrely,
28:39Hansen and Jack Horschauer
28:41have their own secret
28:43surveillance system
28:45inside the house.
28:47They set up a video surveillance
28:49from the bedroom
28:51to a television monitor
28:53in another part of the house.
29:02Horschauer could watch
29:04Bonnie Hansen
29:06and Bob Hansen
29:08having sex.
29:22Now what?
29:24Who thinks like that?
29:26This is how strange and twisted
29:28this man was,
29:29and I don't think I begin
29:31to know the depths of it.
29:34He's a risk-taker.
29:36You know, maybe the boredom
29:38of life has set in
29:40so much that he has to find
29:42a kind of a fantasy life,
29:44not only espionage,
29:46but also sexual fantasies.
29:49Investigators are astonished
29:51when they discover
29:53just how big a risk
29:55Hansen has been running
29:57in his personal life.
29:59He's having an affair
30:01with an exotic dancer,
30:03Priscilla Gailey.
30:05They first meet
30:07at a downtown D.C. strip club,
30:09only a short distance
30:11from the FBI.
30:13Hansen doesn't even try
30:15to disguise his identity,
30:17saying that he's a senior
30:19official at the Bureau.
30:21She knew about him,
30:23and so did her mother
30:25and her sisters,
30:27and all those people knew.
30:29Nobody noticed.
30:32Bob Hansen's personal life
30:34shocked us as much
30:36or more than his espionage.
30:40What bugged me the most
30:42is that he was a hypocrite,
30:44and a true hypocrite
30:46in every sense of the word.
30:48You can't sit there
30:50in an office with someone
30:52and lecture them about morality
30:54and church and family
30:56the whole time.
30:58Investigators now realize
31:00what they're up against,
31:02a man who practices deception
31:04in every facet of his life.
31:11O'Neill suspects that Hansen
31:13is planning a dead drop,
31:15but needs to know when.
31:17Where does Hansen keep his secrets?
31:19Hansen kept a palm pilot
31:21in his pocket constantly,
31:23and the only times he had it
31:25out of his pocket
31:27was on his desk.
31:29The palm pilot was obviously
31:31incredibly important to him,
31:33so this great effort
31:35to separate Hansen
31:37from the palm pilot began.
31:39The palm pilot could hold
31:41the key to cracking the case.
31:43O'Neill devises a strategy
31:45to discover what's inside.
31:48Any time someone
31:50who he perceived as inferior
31:52was coming around
31:54and ordering him around,
31:55Hansen is ordered down
31:57to the FBI's basement
31:59shooting range.
32:02Anyone who's angry
32:04and loses their temper
32:06makes mistakes.
32:08So he got red in the face,
32:10muttered a couple of expletives,
32:12grabbed his shooting goggles
32:14and his gun,
32:16and left with them in a huff.
32:26I went into all the pockets
32:28of the briefcase,
32:30opened them all up.
32:32There were four zippered pockets
32:34and saw the palm pilot in there,
32:36and there was a data card.
32:56I ran down to a prearranged location
32:58that we had set up
33:00just for this event.
33:07It was just staffed all the time,
33:09just ready in case this happened.
33:26I don't have much time, guys.
33:28I said, would you guys freaking hurry up
33:30because I'm going to be in a lot of trouble.
33:32They, of course, are just like,
33:34don't worry about it, we've got to finish this.
33:37It's encrypted.
33:39It's not one of ours.
33:41This is his encryption.
33:43This is going to take more time.
33:45You're not getting it, just download it.
33:47I can copy the contents onto my hard drive,
33:49but I don't have time.
33:51Do that, do that.
33:56You got it?
33:58You getting it?
34:00Hold on.
34:05You want to do another round?
34:08I got to get this stuff back.
34:10Are we done?
34:12You want to shoot another round?
34:14No, I really don't have the time.
34:16I got to go.
34:26I got to go.
34:28You got it?
34:46I've got it.
34:47I've got it.
34:56This guy is now rapidly coming up to an office
35:00that is two floors above me
35:02and doesn't have his palm pilot.
35:10My heart went from somewhat rapid to hurting my chest
35:13and my anxiety exploded.
35:44I realized I've opened every single pocket
35:48and I can't remember which one I pulled it out of.
35:59In the last possible second,
36:01I just sort of shook my head,
36:03you know,
36:05dropped the palm pilot and the data card
36:08into the pockets that I hoped were right.
36:11And really tried to just calm my breathing.
36:21Sitting there,
36:23trying my best not to sweat
36:25because that's a little bit of a tell.
36:28I was thinking,
36:30there's a good chance I'm about to get shot.
36:33He could have realized at that point
36:35that the game was up
36:36and that he was going to either get the death penalty
36:38or life in prison,
36:40so what did it matter anyway?
36:48Any calls?
36:50Nope.
36:52It turns out that I had fortunately
36:54put the palm pilot in the right pocket.
36:56We know that because he didn't challenge me on it.
37:00In James Bond movies,
37:02the bad guys always have all the secrets somewhere
37:04for James Bond.
37:06James Bond defined.
37:08I don't know what he was thinking,
37:10but for some reason he had all his letters
37:12to the Russians and other information
37:14on that data card.
37:26The extent of Hansen's treachery
37:28is now becoming clear
37:30and the investigators' worst fears are realized.
37:34As Hansen said,
37:36he's always in the worst possible place.
37:38He's in that place
37:40where he has access,
37:42he knows what to do with that information
37:44and he knows who to give it to
37:46to do the worst damage possible.
37:48FBI targets included
37:50not only Russian agents,
37:52but terrorists too.
37:54There was a room at the FBI
37:56operated for years,
37:5824 hours a day,
38:00that was devoted to nothing
38:02but trying to trace and track
38:04Osama bin Laden.
38:06Hansen stole
38:08a classified online system
38:10to track and monitor
38:12the movements
38:14of various people abroad.
38:18Once in Russian hands,
38:20a rogue copy of this top-secret
38:22surveillance program
38:24is believed to have been offered for sale.
38:26Bin Laden ended up
38:28with this information
38:30and it facilitated
38:32the Al Qaeda terrorist network
38:34climaxing in the devastation
38:37This is a spy
38:39who might have gone to church
38:41every morning,
38:43but he certainly had blood on his hands.
38:48He increased the prospect
38:50of nuclear war
38:52by revealing something called
38:54the Continuity of Government Plan.
38:56This is the way
38:58the U.S. government protects itself
39:00against an attack,
39:02primarily a nuclear attack,
39:04but it could be a huge terrorist attack.
39:06He's the holy of the holy
39:08and he compromises this program.
39:12Hansen also derailed
39:14one of the most expensive
39:16National Security Agency projects
39:18ever undertaken.
39:22During the 1980s,
39:24a tunnel is dug,
39:26snaking all the way from Georgetown
39:28to a spot below the Russian embassy
39:32to eavesdrop
39:34on secret Soviet communications.
39:37The reality was
39:39that the Russians
39:41knew all about this system,
39:43which cost more than a billion dollars
39:45before it ever became operational.
39:47For his Russian handlers,
39:49Hansen is proving
39:51to be the perfect spy.
39:54He was a superb source.
39:56I ran
39:58and supervised
40:00hundreds of agents,
40:02including secret agents
40:03that were very important
40:05and valuable in the United States,
40:07but none was equal
40:09to Robert Hansen.
40:11None, absolutely.
40:13To make their case watertight,
40:15investigators are still determined
40:17to catch Hansen
40:19making a dead drop.
40:25The breakthrough comes
40:27once the data is fully decrypted.
40:33The Palm Pilot
40:35gave us a drop location.
40:37The code name Ellis
40:39means Foxton Park.
40:41The data card
40:43gave us a date.
40:45February the 18th, 8 p.m.
40:47A drop to the Russians
40:49was going to happen
40:51within days.
40:54The escalation of the case
40:56was enormous.
40:58More stress was put on me
41:00to watch him and to gauge
41:01his ability to go ahead
41:03with this drop.
41:05Hansen became very anxious
41:07constantly, more short,
41:09a bit more morbid, in fact,
41:11in the way he was talking
41:13and almost fatalistic.
41:16Could Hansen even be aware
41:18that he's being drawn
41:20into a trap?
41:22A note decrypted
41:24from the data card
41:26reads like a sad farewell
41:28to his handler.
41:29It seems it is time
41:31to seclude myself
41:33from active service.
41:35Something has aroused
41:37the sleeping tiger.
41:44He's noticed bursts
41:46of radio interference
41:48inside his car.
41:52Are they just possibly
41:54signs of a tracking device?
42:00Bob is smart enough
42:02to know that if, in fact,
42:04there is a burst transmission
42:06in his car, it's over.
42:08It's just a matter of time
42:10before they're going to come
42:12knocking on the door.
42:14But at the same time,
42:16hope burns eternal
42:18because there may not be
42:20a burst transmitter in my car
42:22and I'm not sure.
42:24I will leave this alone
42:26for knowledge of their existence
42:27and amusing the games
42:29children play.
42:36It's the day of the
42:38scheduled dead drop.
42:40Investigators still can't be sure
42:42whether Hansen knows
42:44he's being watched.
42:46By now, a surveillance team
42:48of more than 50 people
42:50is shadowing his every move.
42:52But where is he headed?
42:54Agents report
42:56that he's not alone.
42:58Longtime buddy,
43:00Jack Horschauer, is with him.
43:02Suddenly, the watchers
43:04report alarming news.
43:16Copy that.
43:18There must have been
43:20some very, very sweaty people
43:21who were trying to keep track of him
43:23when he went into a major
43:25international airport
43:27where he could board a plane
43:29and escape to Russia
43:31or some other country.
43:33Of course, he knew how to
43:35try and slip surveillance.
43:37He had a fake passport
43:39and an identification.
43:47Let's do it.
43:49Thank you, Bob.
43:51I'll get a puff of truffle for you.
44:01He's there to drop off his pal.
44:13He heads back towards home.
44:21But now, something strange is happening.
44:29Hansen pulls into a shopping mall parking lot.
44:33He spends a few moments
44:35checking something in the trunk.
44:40Could he be preparing
44:42a bundle of documents
44:44for a dead drop?
44:52He returns to the highway.
44:54And soon, there's no doubt.
44:58He's heading for Foxton Park.
45:01But the drop is scheduled
45:03for much later that night.
45:06He arrives very early.
45:08He comes in a little after 4.40.
45:10And the surveillance teams
45:12have been there just a few minutes,
45:14so they had to scramble
45:16to be in place.
45:18His every move
45:20is now being watched and taped.
45:36This is what Eric O'Neill
45:38has been praying for.
45:48Now Hansen is no longer
45:50merely a conspirator,
45:52but guilty of espionage,
45:54a crime which may land him
45:56on death row.
46:04Those were his last steps
46:06that he took as a free man.
46:12Officers yelled,
46:14Freeze!
46:16Freeze!
46:20Even as they were putting
46:22handcuffs on him,
46:24Hansen said,
46:26What took you so long?
46:30It was an enormous sigh of relief
46:32that this was finally over
46:34and I didn't have to keep up
46:36this facade of deception and lies.
46:39When I found out
46:41that Bob was arrested for espionage,
46:43I felt as I had gotten
46:45a little bit of a stomach.
46:47We were all in this fight together.
46:49We were working as a brotherhood.
46:51How dare you?
46:53How could you do that to us?
46:55I'm glad we caught the guy,
46:57but why Hansen did what he did
46:59is the million dollar question.
47:02The spy has a stark choice.
47:05Talk or face execution.
47:11He agrees to submit to interrogation
47:13and reveal the secrets
47:15of his many years.
47:19Perhaps the greatest secret
47:21of them all,
47:23Hansen says that he has been
47:25confessing his treachery
47:27for many years to his priest.
47:29He was told to pray more
47:31and cease spying,
47:33but never did.
47:38A spy is the loneliest person
47:40in the world.
47:42During 30 hours face to face,
47:43this psychiatrist hears things
47:45Hansen has never shared before.
47:47I wound up stepping
47:49into the shoes
47:51of a spy handler
47:53because I become
47:55a person that he can
47:57reveal himself to.
48:00A complex mix of motives
48:02begins to emerge.
48:04Hansen admits
48:06that he loved the thrill
48:08of secretly shaping events
48:10on the world stage.
48:12It must have been
48:14an incredible high
48:16to realize you were
48:18in that much control
48:20of the world for a while
48:22and he has the ultimate power.
48:24Money, Hansen reveals,
48:26was secondary.
48:28He feared Bonnie
48:30would become suspicious
48:32if he brought home more
48:34than his modest FBI salary.
48:36His affair with the stripper
48:38proved the easiest way
48:39to make his dirty money.
48:41Gifts,
48:43including a second-hand
48:45Mercedes car
48:47and items of jewelry,
48:49came from his KGB payoffs.
48:51Hansen, on average,
48:53received $30,000 per year
48:55for betraying one's country,
48:57for selling secrets
48:59worth billions of dollars,
49:01for putting his own life
49:03at risk,
49:05chump change.
49:07In one extraordinary session
49:09of his life,
49:11Hansen found
49:13the perfect
49:15explanation.
49:17I came in,
49:19sat down,
49:21and shut up,
49:23and two hours later
49:25I left,
49:27trying to absorb
49:29all the stuff
49:31that he had to say.
49:33Hansen confides
49:35that beneath the joyful
49:37veneer,
49:39he was one of these
49:41really tough dudes
49:43and was not a warm,
49:45supportive,
49:47and mentoring father.
49:49In fact,
49:51he would on many occasions
49:53humiliate his own little son.
49:55Hansen says the FBI
49:57was filled with characters
49:59just like his father,
50:01authoritarian,
50:03demanding,
50:05never willing to praise
50:07or reward him,
50:09and I think that may have been
50:11the largest seed
50:13around which grew
50:15this spying career.
50:18But some who've studied the case
50:20say that lying and deception
50:22are what Hansen does best.
50:24There are plenty of people
50:26who had fathers
50:28who were not warm and fuzzy,
50:30and I don't think he feels
50:32a bit sorry for what he's done.
50:34That's why I think he's evil.
50:36I think that Hansen himself
50:37even had to know
50:39that he was evil.
50:41He certainly is a study
50:43in conundrum.
50:45This corrupt individual
50:47was a family man
50:49who believed in God,
50:51yet he became the worst
50:53spy in our history.
51:08On Monday, join Andrew Denton
51:10with respected
51:12ex-White House bureau chief
51:14and still a powerful force
51:16in American journalism,
51:18Helen Thomas,
51:20on Elders with Andrew Denton,
51:22Monday night at 8 on ABC1.
51:24But stay with us now
51:26for late edition news.