America's Most Notorious Spy - The Robert Hanssen story
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How did Robert Hanssen start his journey as a spy?
Mehr auf servicenow.de slash AI for people So this FBI agent wants to be a spy so bad that he ends up spying on his own government and getting people killed. Now the guy's name is Bob and Bob really wants to be like 007. He used to read those James Bond books as a kid and now that's the life he wants. Aber leider für Bob ist er nichts wie James Bond. Er ist nicht sauber oder athletisch. In Wahrheit ist er nur ein nerdiger Accountant. Also sagt er, f*** das, ich werde auf jemanden spyingern. Also beginnt er mit seiner eigenen Frau zu spyingern. Diese Frau, Bonnie. Und so nimmt Bob riskante Fotos von Bonnie, mit ihrem Vertrauen. Aber dann, ohne ihr Vertrauen, zeigt er diese Fotos seinen Freunden.
What led Robert Hanssen to spy on his own government?
Nicht nur das, er setzt eine CCTV-Kamera in seinem Bett ein, die hinter einer Fotografie versteckt ist, und Bonnie weiß nichts über diese Kamera. Und so filmt Bob sie, knallt sie, und zeigt das später seinen Freunden. Und seine arme Frau hat keine Ahnung, dass er das macht. Der Junge ist nur Trash. But anyway, in 1976, his dream finally comes true. He gets an opportunity to be an actual spy. Because one day, when he's 32 years old, he applies to the FBI, and he actually gets hired. And they only have him working on financial crimes and accounting stuff, but whatever, his foot is in the door. Three years later, he gets relocated to New York City, where he works in the Soviet Counterintelligence Unit. Und hier ist er so, das ist es. Das ist mein großer Schuss. Ich werde wie 007 sein.
Aber leider stecken sie ihm an, administrativen Arbeit zu machen, klassifizierte Daten und solche Sachen zu handeln. Und das ist ein bisschen schrecklich. Ich meine, er ist in dieses Geschäft gekommen, um Spionage zu machen. Wie darf man ihn untervaluieren? Also ist er so, f*** das. Ich werde ein Spion werden, egal was.
How did Robert Hanssen initially contact the Soviets?
So one day Bob goes over to a local Russian trading company in Manhattan and he just walks into their offices and he talks to them and he's like, I want to be a spy, so let's make a deal. I'll give you some FBI secrets and in return you pay me money. Now keep in mind, this is all happening during the Cold War. So tensions between the Soviet Union and America are really high. And this local Russian trading company isn't actually a local Russian trading company. It's actually a front for the GRU. The GRU is like the Soviet equivalent of the CIA. And so these Russians are sitting there listening to Bob's crazy idea and they're like... Und so, boom, they have this arrangement. And finally, Bob is officially a spy. Just, you know, for the opposing team.
What information did Robert Hanssen provide to the Soviets?
And soon he's communicating with the Soviets over encrypted radio transmissions. And they dead drop him cash. And he's telling them about some Soviet places that the FBI has bugged. He's telling them the names of suspected Soviet informants for the FBI. And some of these informants he's naming end up getting arrested in the Soviet Union or executed over this. But Bob... Don't really care.
How did Robert Hanssen almost get caught by his wife?
He got what he's always wanted plus he's getting paid. So he keeps feeding them more information and more information for about a year. But then in 1980 he gets caught. But not by the FBI. They still have no clue he's doing any of this. Bob gets caught by someone else. Because one day Bonnie, his wife, is at home and she walks into the basement and Bob is there.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
How did Robert Hanssen start his journey as a spy?
0:53–1:39
2
What led Robert Hanssen to spy on his own government?
1:39–2:45
3
How did Robert Hanssen initially contact the Soviets?
2:45–3:32
4
What information did Robert Hanssen provide to the Soviets?
3:32–3:51
5
How did Robert Hanssen almost get caught by his wife?
3:51–8:51
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Ray William Johnson: True Story Podcast
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