FBI selects counterintelligence czar

From CNN Correspondent Kelli Arena

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- FBI Director Louis Freeh has selected a counterintelligence "czar" who will be given the task of strengthening U.S. capabilities to track spies, CNN learned Thursday.

FBI special agent David Szady will be the new director of the program called CI21. Szady is a 28-year counterintelligence specialist who heads the FBI's Portland, Oregon, field office.

IN-DEPTH SPECIAL The case against Robert Hanssen   MESSAGE BOARD Espionage case

The White House is expected to make the announcement, followed by a statement from the FBI.

CI21 -- which stands for counterintelligence for the 21st century -- was created by a presidential directive signed in the last days of the Clinton administration.

The directive mandates the appointment of a counterspy czar. The directive also outlines steps to enable the counterintelligence officials to better fulfill their mission of identifying, understanding, prioritizing and counteracting the intelligence threats faced by the United States.

The FBI has come under increasing criticism following the arrest of Robert Hanssen, a 25-year FBI veteran who allegedly served as a spy for the Soviet Union and then Russia starting in 1985.

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Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • FBI Press Room - Press Release - 2000 - Veteran FBI Agent Arrested and Charged with Espionage
Central Intelligence Agency
U.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of Justice
Embassy of the Russian Federation
Russian FSB (former KGB, in Russian)

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