Charles R. Smith
Sunday, April 1, 2001

Several senior U.S. intelligence officials confirmed that Russian SVR agents became "active" nearly two weeks prior to Hannsen's arrest.

"I had a conversation with TASS Washington, D.C., Bureau Chief Shitov nearly a week after Hannsen was arrested," noted one source, who requested that his name be withheld.

"He was nervous and clearly upset. At one point he became downright nasty."

Several sources allege that a Russian senior ITAR-TASS correspondent was one of the initial four individuals ejected from the United States by the Bush administration.

ITAR-TASS officials confirmed that senior corespondent Chukceev left Washington only hours before Hannsen was arrested and has since returned to Moscow. ITAR-TASS representatives at the Washington office gave no reason for Chukceev's sudden departure.

"[TASS D.C. correspondent] Chukceev was one of Hannsen's 'handlers,' " commented another former intelligence official, who also requested not to be identified. "If he knew in advance ... this may mean another spy."

Intelligence sources confirmed that several known Russian SVR agents approached their American counterparts nearly two weeks before Hannsen's arrest. The Russian agents reportedly made similar offers to "clean up the rules of the game."

"They offered a new set of rules for the 'global intelligence community': no killing, no blackmail. Make nice. The ultimate in globalism," noted a former high-ranking intelligence official sarcastically.

"There is only one rule inside the global intelligence community – there are no rules."

Mole Hunt in Moscow and Washington

The Russian capitol is reportedly being turned upside down because of the Hannsen case.

U.S. investigators confirmed that it was KGB and SVR documentation smuggled out of Moscow that led to Hannsen's arrest.

As a result, the leaked Russian documents set off a huge "mole hunt" inside Moscow for the source.

Although reports of a hunt for an American spy in Russia are sparse in the Moscow press, U.S. intelligence officials confirmed the sudden increase in activity is part of an all-out search to find the source of the leaked KGB documents.

But there are skeptics in the U.S. intelligence community about the Russian "mole hunt."

Sources within the CIA tell NewsMax that there are fears the Russians deliberately leaked information on Hanssen and "sacrificed him" in an effort to save higher, more important, moles.

These skeptics note that Hanssen was on the verge of retiring and his usefulness was diminishing.

The apparent advance knowledge of Hannsen's arrest by Moscow has added more fuel to such worries inside Washington, D.C.

U.S. spy agencies are scouring the city in what has been described as the largest "mole hunt" in American history.

FBI officials confirmed that nearly 500 agents have been given polygraph tests.

Moreover, sources close to the investigation confirmed that top U.S. intelligence officials are combing FBI computer and communications records in an effort to track accesses.

However, some inside the FBI are reported to be unwilling to change flawed operations in the wake of Hannsen's arrest.

"The FBI is still resisting full financial disclosures," noted the senior intelligence official. "Both the CIA and NSA require full financial checks."

Larger Spy Ring in D.C.

According to one Russian intelligence analyst, Hannsen could be evidence of a larger spy ring inside the U.S. government.

"Aldrich Ames and Richard Hannsen were both recruited by the same top Russian agent," noted Dr. Ariel Cohen, a senior reaserch fellow and specialist on Russian intelligence matters at the Heritage Foundation.

"This particular Russian is known to be their 'varsity' man i one of the top agents the old Soviet KGB ever produced. The best of the best," said Dr. Cohen.

"Ames and Hannsen were both recruited by this top Russian agent in 1985. Yet that same top Russian agent was busy working in the United States in '86, '87, '88 and so on," noted Dr. Cohen.

"Who did he enlist in the other years? At an average of two per year, there could be dozens of agents inside the U.S. government," asserted Cohen.

"Hannsen was the perfect spy," said Cohen. "Unlike CIA agent Ames, Hannsen had no outward signs that would have prompted his discovery. He left few money trails, was the perfect citizen, very religious and never fooled around."

"Hannsen is a clear demonstration of the importance to penetrate the Russian intelligence services with agents of our own," stated Dr. Cohen.

"We are just now feeling the 20 years of work by a very effective and efficient Soviet-era intelligence industry. Today, our limited ability to counter Russian intelligence operations is mind-blowing."

PLA Spy at Top Level?

Hannsen's arrest came at the same time a top-level Chinese Army intelligence agent defected to America.

While FBI agent Hannsen had access to the highest level of secrets in the U.S. government, apparently so did Chinese army spy Lt. Col. Xu Junping.

Lt. Col. Xu is described as a senior member of the General Staff Second Department – the intelligence section – of PLA headquarters.

Xu served directly under current Chinese military intelligence director Lt. General Xiong Guangkai until his defection last December.

According to sources inside the investigation, Xu is saying that a top Chinese army spy also penetrated the FBI.

There is evidence that Xu may be telling the truth. According to a 2000 interview with convicted Chinagate figure Johnny Chung, a leak at the highest levels in the FBI nearly cost him his life.

Chung stated that in 1998, Robert Luu, a suspected Chinese intelligence agent, approached him with offers of money and a presidential pardon in return for his silence.

Over the course of several meetings, Luu asked Chung to engage in a cover-up and hide the Chinese army source of funds he had funneled to the Democratic Party in the 1996 campaign.

Chung, who later pleaded guilty to illegal campaign charges, informed the FBI of Luu's offers and agreed to wear a radio microphone so that law enforcement officials could tape the next conversation.

During the next meeting, however, Luu told Chung that he already knew about the FBI surveillance from "inside."

Since that incident, FBI officials have arrested one man armed with a gun outside Chung's office and turned away two Chinese nationals at Los Angeles airport because of a possible threat against Chung's life.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Hanssen Spy Case
Russia
China / Taiwan

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