Spy Quotes

“He felt that on a strategic level the FBI was failing to do what it needed to do to protect the country. That the main way the Soviets prosecuted their aims was through subversion of our institutions.”
― David Wise, Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America

“His mother was a reasonably nurturing person but did not protect and defend him from his father.”
― David Wise, Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America

“The list of secrets that, if passed to a foreign power, could bring the death penalty for espionage includes data about nuclear weapons, military spacecraft or satellites, early warning systems, war plans, codes or communications intelligence, major weapons systems, or any “major element of defense strategy.” 30 The Mind of Robert Hanssen Robert Philip Hanssen was a walking paradox—a zealous”
― David Wise, Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America

“Under the bargain, and a 1996 law encouraging the families of spies to cooperate with the government, Bonnie Hanssen would receive a portion of her husband’s pension, or about $40,000 a year, the same as a survivor benefit, assuming, Melson said, that she “continues to be fully cooperative.” Bonnie was also allowed to keep the house and their three cars.”
― David Wise, Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America

“Now, in January, Bush was about to be inaugurated. For attorney general, he had chosen John Ashcroft, the conservative former Republican senator from Missouri, who had been defeated for reelection. Ashcroft’s appointment to the cabinet was highly controversial, and was strongly opposed by a wide variety of liberal and minority groups because of his strong religious convictions, his opposition to abortion, and his views on race. Just before inauguration, Hanssen exchanged his last e-mails with his friend and former FBI colleague Jim Ohlson; the subject was John Ashcroft.”
― David Wise, Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America

“At the end of the interrogation, Moustakas said, Kelley was escorted out of CIA headquarters by a senior counterintelligence officer, who also took his badge. He was placed on administrative leave that was to last twenty-one months. In limbo, falsely accused as a spy and facing a possible death penalty, Kelley, having served his country for thirty-seven years, had nowhere to turn. He could only wait, and hope that he would eventually be cleared of the crime he knew he had not committed.”
― David Wise, Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America

“The bureau set its sights high; it did not hesitate to go after even the celebrated Viktor Cherkashin, the canny KGB chief of counterintelligence in the Washington residency, who, as the CIA and the bureau later learned to their sorrow, was the key player in the handling of both Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen. The attempt to recruit Cherkashin was made by Ray Mislock, then the special agent in charge of counterintelligence for the FBI’s Washington field office. Cherkashin had returned to Washington around 1997 to attend a conference. It was long after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and by this time senior KGB officers often fraternized with American intelligence officials, their former foes, at various international meetings.”
― David Wise, Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America