# Robert Hanssen, FBI spy, completes his life sentence **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [June 6, 2023, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077 "2023-06-06T01:31:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/1 "2023-06-06T01:31:14Z")
Robert Hanssen was found dead in his cell this morning. > **[Robert Hanssen, FBI agent who spied for Moscow, dies in prison at 79](https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/06/05/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-dead/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWJpZCI6Ijg0MzMxNTYiLCJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNjg1OTM3NjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNjg3MjMzNTk5LCJpYXQiOjE2ODU5Mzc2MDAsImp0aSI6IjYxMTI2NjRkLTk3ODktNGUzMC05Y2IxLTkwYzU3YmE1NzYxYSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9vYml0dWFyaWVzLzIwMjMvMDYvMDUvcm9iZXJ0LWhhbnNzZW4tZmJpLXNweS1kZWFkLyJ9.kIFp0HEyctHTfJvO25Z3LLuQDwjq3r6JgofgoduTuM4&itid=gfta)** > > He disclosed highly classified materials and betrayed U.S. assets -- including two who were later executed -- in one of the worst breaches in U.S. history. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/2 "2023-06-06T03:27:51Z")
A quote cobbled together from several people: “I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/3 "2023-06-06T03:39:29Z")
So I totally parsed the headline wrong, I thought it meant he had somehow been pardoned or been given a commuted sentence and walked out of the prison today. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/4 "2023-06-06T04:01:23Z")
Thank you for the gift article. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/5 "2023-06-06T12:10:56Z")
Pretty sure that was an intended joke. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/6 "2023-06-06T12:49:06Z")
Didn’t he have several consecutive life sentences? So he’s not done now; he’s only just starting on his second sentence. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/7 "2023-06-06T12:52:28Z")
Those always run concurrently. Maybe someday we’ll have the technology for consecutive life sentences. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/8 "2023-06-06T12:54:15Z")
I got the joke immediately. I certainly hope to live to read some other similarly witty Doper headlines. Of course first we have to convict the treasonous bastards. But we’re working on it. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/9 "2023-06-06T13:16:55Z")
Buh-bye, you traitorous motherfucker. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/10 "2023-06-06T13:29:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Didn’t he have several consecutive life sentences? So he’s not done now; he’s only just starting on his second sentence. > [@running\_coach](#): > > Those always run concurrently. Maybe someday we’ll have the technology for consecutive life sentences. **[Obligatory Perry Bible Fellowship comic](https://pbfcomics.com/comics/life-sentence/)**. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/11 "2023-06-06T13:37:02Z")
Sounds like a Black Mirror episode. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/12 "2023-06-06T13:59:31Z")
I’ll say that justice was served to its full measure, but he still outlived the people he betrayed by decades. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/13 "2023-06-06T14:06:13Z")
Hey Bob, don’t let the door to Hell hit you in the ass on the way in! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/14 "2023-06-06T14:09:19Z")
Next up for completing his life sentence, Aldrich Ames, who lived the high life for quite awhile on KGB funds, while compromising and causing the execution of a number of agents passing information to the U.S. He’s 82, so he’s had a good long while to contemplate his sins, or more likely to justify his sleazy betrayals. Meanwhile, Jonathan Pollard is apparently living a comfortable life in Israel, investing in several start-up businesses and [encouraging the destruction of a Palestinian village](https://www.jpost.com/aliyah/article-738928). ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/15 "2023-06-06T14:10:29Z")
Yep! My immediate question was, “How do you complete a life sentence?” Well, the answer is actually pretty simple. LOL ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/16 "2023-06-07T02:01:07Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > I’ll say that justice was served to its full measure, but he still outlived the people he betrayed by decades. He also had a pretty pleasant death, compared to them. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/17 "2023-06-07T14:35:59Z")
If anyone is interested, the 2007 film _Breach_ seems faithful to the key facts. Unfortunately it starts at the time that suspicion has already fallen on Hanssen so there is no backstory about how it all started and progressed over the years, only about how he’s ultimately caught. > **[Breach (2007) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401997/)** > > Breach: Directed by Billy Ray. With Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Laura Linney, Caroline Dhavernas. FBI upstart Eric O'Neill enters into a power game with his boss, Robert Hanssen, an agent who was put on trial for selling secrets to the Soviet... ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/18 "2023-06-07T16:38:31Z")
An exciting book about Hanssen getting caught is _Gray Day: My Undercover Mission to Expose America’s First Cyber Spy_, by Eric O’Neill, the rookie agent the FBI set to spy on him. I read it maybe 2 years ago, but from what I remember, O’Neill describes Hanssen as just a regular schlub, not particularly smart, bad-tempered and arrogant. And I hesitate to link to the NY Post, but this article is interesting, with O’Neill’s take on Hanssen’s motivation: “It was the thing that made him feel that he was the best at something in the world. No one was better,” O’Neill shared. “He knew that it was going to make him immortal. And it did.” > **[FBI agent who took down sexually deviant spy Robert Hanssen says traitor...](https://nypost.com/2023/06/06/fbi-agent-eric-oneill-who-took-down-russian-spy-robert-hanssen-says-h/)** > > “This closes the door on a huge moment in my life. I had hoped to confront him one last time, face to face.” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/19 "2023-06-07T19:05:29Z")
Maybe one of you knows the details, but I recall as part of his cooperation agreement his wife was allowed to keep much of the property paid for by his ill gotten gains. Did anyone find this detail in the book, movie, or other reporting? ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hanssen-fbi-spy-completes-his-life-sentence/985077/20 "2023-06-07T21:49:49Z")
Here’s a partial reply to @TriPolar 's question: “Under Mr. Hanssen’s plea bargain, she will receive the survivor’s part of his bureau pension, as well as the right to keep the home.” It’s at the end of a 2002 NY Times article. Gift link: [Spy's Wife Speaks, After Taking a Lie Test - The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/16/us/spy-s-wife-speaks-after-taking-a-lie-test.html?unlocked_article_code=rrbneSmJX7At47t2fsWQxaebGjvsBZvhb0FZbL0j-aW1NHT19P9iGWGiE9qcPe7WXigWpj0Bvcmzwdm8-hx-9lYdH3iMKGFAYR467q_XLZddLMjcmaT-YkhzBbUZE9JXLRiwGbOIPduL5fl0JfFeDwWm0zGD75xdAo9E0fnzRqTNfIBArZ2uaJBoCQt0ggXw6CzPXUlirDFD2GiCFRr7neYVWP2aaZN8NTuyNc9P8JXbyFqxQxWqCNlCxemEfQXhm-q6Jv0gz1IZatTMBe22bhIMJRC_0GgH0NLO3O8D9x4puihZkpeiClHc34WLMExa7ipkRLo1PXR8x_0ymDiUaSv66RFhQLwX7J21YBQ&smid=url-share)