U.S. court hearing set for Hanssen to plead guilty

Hanssen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- A federal court hearing has been set for Friday for fired FBI agent Robert Hanssen to enter a guilty plea to charges of spying for Moscow, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office said Tuesday.

The spokeswoman said the hearing has been scheduled at 9 a.m. before Chief U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton in Alexandria, Virginia, for Hanssen to change his plea to guilty from not guilty. "The plea will be on Friday," she said.

The Justice Department in June dropped its demand that Hanssen face a possible death penalty, clearing the way for a plea deal to be negotiated in one of the most serious espionage cases in U.S. history.

Copyright 2001 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.