US FBI Veteran Indicted for Spying for MoscowA US federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Robert Hanssen, a veteran Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) counterintelligence agent, on charges of spying for Moscow.Hanssen, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit espionage, 19 counts of espionage and one count of attempted espionage, the US Justice Department said. Hanssen "betrayed his country for over 15 years and knowingly caused grave injury to the security of the United States," U.S. Attorney Ken Melson said. The indictment also seeks 1.4 million dollars from Hanssen that he allegedly received in cash, diamonds and two Rolex watches. Hanssen was arrested in February while allegedly delivering a package for pickup in a park in Virginia. The FBI said that Hanssen, 57, had passed to Soviet Union and Russia 6,000 pages of documents on secret programs during a period of 15 years starting in 1985. If convicted on these charges, Hanssen could be sentenced to death or life imprisonment and each count also carries a potential fine of about 250,000 dollars. Hanssen was the third Federal Bureau of Investigation agent ever accused of espionage. Wednesday's indictment came after plea discussions between Hanssen's lawyers and federal prosecutors broke down over the issue of death penalty. A trial was scheduled for June 1. |
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