Robert Hanssen, a former FBI agent behind one of the worst United States intelligence breaches in history, was found dead in his Colorado prison cell Monday.
Hanssen, 79, was sentenced to life in prison in 2002 after he was caught selling highly classified information to the Russian government. He had sold U.S. secrets for over 20 years, initially to the Soviet Union, then to the Russian Federation after the former's collapse. The inmate was found unresponsive by prison personnel, then pronounced dead by responding medical personnel. A cause of death was not immediately released.
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"On Monday, June 5, 2023, at approximately 6:55 am, inmate Robert Hanssen was found unresponsive at the Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) specifically, the ADX in Florence, Colorado," a statement from Bureau of Prisons communications director Kristie Breshears said.
"Responding staff immediately initiated life-saving measures. Staff requested emergency medical services and life-saving efforts continued. The inmate was subsequently pronounced dead by outside emergency medical personnel."
The statement added that the public was not under threat at any time.
Here is the full statement from Bureau of Prisons communications director Kristie Breshears. pic.twitter.com/OmhN1ee1AW
— Arden Farhi (@ArdenFarhi) June 5, 2023
Hanssen became an FBI officer in 1976 and started spying in 1985, according to the FBI. Over 15 years, Hanssen delivered information that "compromised numerous human sources, counterintelligence techniques, investigations, dozens of classified U.S. government documents, and technical operations of extraordinary importance and value."
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In 2000, U.S. intelligence intercepted a Russian document that confirmed the presence of a spy within their ranks. Hanssen was tracked by roughly 300 agents for several months to secure a case against him. He was arrested on Feb. 18, 2001, after being monitored while making a "dead drop" of intelligence materials to his Russian handlers.
He plead guilty to 15 counts of espionage in July and the following year was sentenced to life without parole.