Did Robert Hanssen act out of ideological reasons? It was not really possible that this fundamentalist Catholic could commit to an atheistic communism. Money must therefore have been his principle motivation and the Soviets knew well that the best way to keep a spy was to reward him.
Hanssen was paid for the services he rendered to the KGB and the SVR, which had succeeded the former after the collapse of the USSR. Yet he did not make the most of the hundreds of thousands of dollars he received, and took care not to change his lifestyle. On the other hand, he could have earned even more money in exchange for the information he provided to the Soviets, which means that money cannot have been the only reason behind his betrayal.
Hanssen's attitude never aroused suspicion. He was interested in everything: computer systems, of course, but also anything related to electronics, such as miniaturised cameras and hidden microphones. He even devoured any available literature on the subject and
it was true that his hunger for knowledge was sometimes quite shocking. However, this was usually just put down to his curiosity, nothing more. He was the perfect FBI agent, which explains his meteoric rise within the bureau and why he was given increasingly important roles, all in connection with counterintelligence and especially regarding the fight against Soviet activities in the United States.
It was actually Hanssen who offered his services to the Russians, probably in 1985, when he sent a letter to the private home of a Soviet officer stationed in Washington. Hanssen was well-placed to know where and how the KGB were being watched and was therefore not taking any considerable risk: he knew for sure that his letter would not be opened. Inside was a second sealed envelope, which was to be hand-delivered to the head of counterintelligence at the Soviet embassy, a man called Cherkashin, a KGB colonel and an expert in handling double agents. The letter itself was anonymous: Hanssen had simply signed it ‘B'. In the letter he demanded $100,000 in exchange for providing classified documents on US intelligence.
By asking for such a large sum at the outset, Hanssen had indicated that he was able to provide information of the highest importance. He provided further evidence of his seriousness by sending the Soviets key information: the names of three KGB spies stationed in the US who had been recruited by the Americans. He also knew how the KGB would react and what would happen to these agents. Under various pretexts, the agents who had been denounced as moles were recalled to Moscow and immediately arrested. Two were shot and the third received a long prison sentence. The dramatic consequences of Hanssen's betrayal did not stop him from attending church every Sunday with his young family.
The Soviets had taken the bait immediately, but could not respond favourably to the mysterious ‘B'. Not only did they not know who he was, but they were also unable to reach him. In fact, the Russians would never formally identify him, although they knew that he undeniably belonged to a very small circle within US counterintelligence. Only a handful of FBI agents had access to that kind of sensitive information, but what mattered most was that Hanssen continued to provide them with it.
Shortly after sending the first letter, once more ‘B' sent a large package containing a sample of the classified documents he had promised to the home of the KGB officer in Washington. He knew that in light of the information he was providing, the KGB would not hesitate to pay when he asked them, which was not to be long: when a third letter arrived, this time he indicated precisely what steps to take next.
Hanssen had chosen to use the well-known system of dead letterboxes, a procedure that involved no physical contact between an agent and his case officer. The hidden drop off points were chosen in advance and were usually located in a public place. A signal (a chalk mark, for example) located some distance away indicated whether the letterbox was in use. Similarly, another signal was used by the spy to indicate that the letter or package had been safely received. For his drop off point, Hanssen had chosen a small bridge in a Virginian park.
The package was carefully wrapped in a rubbish bag and deposited near the base of the bridge, while bits of adhesive tape were glued to the road signs to act as the signal. Consequently, Hanssen received his first $100,000, but then decided to wait. Obsessed with security, he wanted to see what the impact would be of his first betrayal, worried that he may have triggered the suspicions of the FBI. He therefore went quiet, which did not fail to worry his new ‘clients'! He soon resumed contact, however, and proceeded to send thousands of documents to the KGB and the SVR.
As a counterintelligence specialist, Hanssen had essentially allowed Moscow to foil any traps set by the CIA or the FBI, which meant that KGB agents could operate on US soil much more calmly. He also revealed an extraordinary operation implemented by the NSA: the Americans had started to dig a tunnel under the USSR's embassy in Washington, just like the British had done in Berlin in the 1960s to listen in on the Soviet's secret communications. The tunnel had begun in west Berlin and ended in the basement of the building that housed the communist commanders. It was almost the same operation in Washington as the Americans wanted to install listening devices in the Russian embassy.
This was further evidence that the end of the Cold War had not affected the amount of espionage activities in one way or another. This operation had first been considered before the collapse of the USSR and had been begun
