Alleged FBI spy appears in Virginia court

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Veteran FBI agent Robert Philip Hanssen, charged with spying for the Soviet Union and Russia for more than 15 years, appeared Tuesday in U.S. District Court before Judge Theresa Buchanan.

Hanssen was a 27-year veteran whose high security clearance and sensitive job assignments gave him access to details of U.S. security operations, including methods the United States used to conduct electronic surveillance.

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The 56-year-old father of six spent most of his career in counter-intelligence operations designed to catch spies. His most recent assignment was with the State Department, where his job was to help ferret out Russian spies.

Sources told CNN that Hanssen would have been in position to warn the Russians if the United States suspected anyone of spying.

FBI officials said Hanssen may have also allowed the Russians to cross-check and confirm the names of U.S. intelligence agents supplied to them by Aldrich Ames, a CIA employee arrested in 1997 and convicted of spying for the Russians. At least 10 of the agents fingered by Ames were executed.

Attorney Plato Cacheris, who has represented Ames and such notables as Monica Lewinsky, was appointed to represent Hanssen. Cacheris said he met Hanssen on Tuesday morning and described him as "quite upset" adding he was "very emotional."

Russian officials in Moscow and at the Russian Embassy in Washington refused comment.

Four-month surveillance

The charges filed against Hanssen were based on a 110-page affidavit outlining his alleged activities.

One source told CNN that the FBI obtained documents from the KGB, the Russian intelligence service, that pointed to Hanssen as a mole inside the FBI.

Agents kept Hanssen under surveillance for at least four months before arresting him Sunday at his home in Vienna, Virginia, after he allegedly dropped classified documents into a "dead box" where they could be picked up by Russian agents.

An FBI official said the Russians paid Hanssen "substantial amounts" for his information.

Former Deputy Attorney General George Terwilliger told CNN that "no case like this would be brought unless it was very, very strong."

Bush orders inquiry

Because of Hanssen's position and high security clearance, U.S. officials moved quickly to determine the extent of damage his alleged activities may have caused.

Aides to President George W. Bush said the damage may be "considerable, potentially quite serious," and that the president had approved the recommendation for an independent review involving the CIA, State and Justice Departments.

Plans for that operation were to be announced later on Tuesday. William Webster, a former head of both the CIA and FBI, was expected to be appointed to head the blue-ribbon panel to conduct the review.

The FBI was planning a news conference for 12:45 p.m. EST. FBI Director Louis Freeh, Attorney General John Ashcroft, CIA Director George Tenet and Webster were expected to attend.

CNN Correspondents Jeanne Meserve, Steve Harrigan, Eileen O'Connor, David Ensor and Kelli Arena contributed to this report.

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Federal Bureau of Investigation
Central Intelligence Agency
US Department of State
U.S. Department of Justice
Embassy of the Russian Federation
Russian FSB (former KGB, in Russian)

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