Quotes about the Robert Hanssen Case

Quotes about the Robert Hanssen Case

Quotes 1

“Allegations of espionage are a reminder that we live in a dangerous world, a world that sometimes does not share American values. To anyone who would betray its trust, I warn you, we'll find you and we'll bring you to justice.”--President George W. Bush

"The arrest of Robert Hanssen for espionage should remind us all, every American should know that our nation, our free society is an international target in a dangerous world. In fact, the espionage operations designed to steal vital secrets of the United States are as intense today as they have ever been."--Attorney General John Ashcroft

"This was a very experienced intelligence officer. For this reason, this was a very complex investigation."--FBI Director Louis Freeh

"He was a real pro. He knew counterintelligence. He is a very bright man. He was an expert in technology before technology became a big issue. He was one of the brightest people I knew in the FBI,."--CI Centre Professor David Major

"In short, the trusted insider betrayed his trust without detection."--FBI Director Louis Freeh

"Authorities always talk like they have a great case, but we'll see."--Plato Cacheris, agent Robert Philip Hanssen's attorney

"Clearly, we need to remain vigilant and to recognize that the end of the Cold War did not eliminate the business of stealing our nation's most valuable secrets."--Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., vice chairman, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

"Let me be clear: Individuals who commit treasonous acts against the United States will be held fully accountable. I will devote whatever resources are necessary within the department to ensure that justice is done in this case and any other case like it."--Attorney General John Ashcroft

"This has been a difficult day for those who love our country, and especially for those who serve our country in law enforcement and in the intelligence community."--President George W. Bush

"This guy clearly was a real genius at covering his tracks, and he didn't spend a lot of money. I've never seen anything this crafty before."--Author Ronald Kessler

"Robert Hanssen is a very attractive, well-composed person who isn't overly gregarious, but he would mix right in with everybody. We never had any reason to believe that he was anything but a dedicated, hard-working guy. I just can’t imagine him being involved in this. It’s impossible for me to see Bob doing this. There must be a mistake here."--Nancy Cullen, neighbor of Hanssen

"I think just now, what has happened with Mr. Hanssen is a very good reminder for all of us that danger from Russian intelligence activity against America is real, very high, and needs to be taken care of -- not in the future, not tomorrow, but today."--Former GRU Col. Stanislav Lunev

"It is extremely difficult because the person who was investigated and charged was one of our own."--Secretary of State Colin Powell

“I find all of this impossible to believe.”--Neighbor of Hanssen's

“I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach."--Another neighbor of Hanssen's

"When a spy scandal is elevated to a political level, it is necessary to understand who and what is behind it, who derives benefits from it."--Boris N. Labusov, a spokesman for Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service

"This is a difficult day for the F.B.I."--FBI Director Louis Freeh

"This explains a lot. There were things that we thought might have been done by Ames, but we always thought that it was a stretch for Ames to have known about certain programs."--former official

"The fact is that the Soviets had two penetrations at the same time: one at the FBI and one at the CIA. So people at the American desk at KGB Center in Moscow would be in the catbird's seat as far as human intelligence and technical intelligence goes. It was a coup for the Russians."--John Martin, former head of the Justice Department's internal security section

"Apparently having this guy from the FBI and Ames from the CIA at about the same time confirming each other's information, whether they knew of each other or not, is pretty significant."--Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), intelligence committee member

"They have their own spy, big time. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch."--A retired high-ranking CIA counterintelligence agent who served during the FBI takeover at CIA

"You can't even begin to measure the damage. If you look at his job progression, he was in a position to neutralize many of the activities of the FBI. He had their playbook."--Retired CIA officer Milt Bearden

"Potentially, he is the FBI's Aldrich Ames. It's great that he was caught, but you have to ask: How could this happen for so long without anyone knowing about it? It's just a devastating thing, for the bureau and for the nation."--Retired FBI agent Robert Blitzer

"We're all devastated. I've known him for a long time. I know his six kids. I know his wife. From our point of view, he did seem like a good father and a good husband and a good professional."--Richard McPherson, headmaster of the Heights School for boys in Potomac, which all three of Hanssen's sons attended.

He was "probably one of the brightest guys I have ever met. . . . If there was an Achilles' heel it was that he knew he was bright and he was somewhat arrogant. . . . He did not suffer fools."--former Hanssen coworker Dick Alu

"Intelligence and counterintelligence are with us and will be with us for some time."--FBI Director Louis Freeh

"One never knows what another country has in mind down the road, and someone who's a friend today may prove to be an enemy tomorrow."--Loch Johnson, a University of Georgia political scientist who worked on intelligence for the Clinton White House and congressional committees

"The more things change, the more they stay the same. There's literally no substitute for somebody on the inside."--Kenneth Allard, a former Army intelligence officer now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

“But we must be realistic. In any democratic society, counterintelligence is decidedly difficult and will never be perfect. It wasn't perfect in the totalitarian Soviet Union, and it certainly won't be in America.” Former DCI Robert Gates

More Quotes

From Hanssen's notes

to the KGB/SVR:

"I know far better than most what minefields are laid and the risks."

"Soon I will send a box of documents. … They are from certain of the most sensitive and highly compartmented projects of the U.S. intelligence community."-

"Recent changes in U.S. law now attach the death penalty to my help to you as you know, so I do take some risk."

“As far as the funds are concerned, I have little need for more than the $100,000. It merely provides a difficulty since I cannot spend it, store it or invest it easily without triping (sic) ‘drug money’ warning bells. Perhaps some diamonds as security to my children and some good will” would be better."

“Please recognize that there are a limited number of persons with this array of clearances,” he wrote. “As a collection they point to me. I trust that an officer of your experience will handle them appropriately.”

Eventually, I would appreciate an escape plan. Nothing lasts forever.”

"I am much safer if you know little about me. Neither of us are children about these things."

“I have come about as close as I ever want to come to sacrificing myself to help you and I get silence,” one missive complains. “I hate silence . . . Conclusion: One might propose that I am either insanely brave or quite insane. I’d answer neither. I’d say, insanely loyal.”

“I decided on this course when I was 14 years old. I’d read Philby’s book. Now that is insane, eh!”

"Bloch was such a shnook . . . I almost hated protecting him, but he was your friend. If our guy sent to Paris had balls or brains both would have been dead meat. Fortunately for you he had neither."

"Meeting in this country is not really that hard to manage but I am loathe to do so not because it is risky but because it involves revealing my identity. That insulation has been my best protection against betrayal by someone like me."

"My identity and actual position must be left unstated to ensure my security."

"The U.S. can be errantly likened to a powerfully built but retarded child-- potentially dangerous, but young, immature and easily manipulated. But don't be fooled by that appearance. It is also one which can turn into genius quickly, like an idiot savant, once convinced of a goal."

"I must answer too many questions from family, friends, and government plus it is a cardinal sign of a spy. You have made it that way because of your policy. Policies are constraints, constraints breed patterns. Patterns are noticed."