FBI to Increase Polygraph Testing
W A S H I N G T O N, Feb. 22 -- This week's spy scandal rocked the FBI and brought to light its apparent security weaknesses. Today, FBI sources told ABCNEWS the bureau will begin expanding its use of polygraph tests.
It appears Robert Phillip Hanssen, arrested this week after allegedly spying for 15 years at the FBI, was never subjected to a lie detector test.
The Soviets, and then Russians, allegedly paid him $1.4 million in cash and jewels for his secrets. He is charged with two counts of espionage for Moscow. His indictment was supported by a 100-page affidavit that included letters allegedly written by Hanssen to his counterparts there.
FBI sources told ABCNEWS today that Hanssen repeatedly downloaded classified information from bureau computers and was allowed to take it wherever he wanted, no questioned asked.
"He had access to the whole range of the FBI's efforts … hundreds of cases against the Soviet Union," said former Hanssen friend and colleague Paul Moore. "He supervised the people who did the analysis on those cases."
FBI officials told ABCNEWS that Hanssen's arrest this week made them realize that they have had limited procedures to prevent the theft of classified computer files by authorized personnel. In their affidavit, prosecutors say Hanssen was getting so much information at one point that he considered using his palm pilot for "rapid transmittal of substantial material in digital form."
Prosecutors also believe Hanssen regularly tapped into the FBI's database to see if he was under investigation. However, the FBI never audited the system to detect Hanssen's alleged activities.
Early Criticism of Procedure
In a 1997 report, Michael Bromwich, the Justice Department's inspector general, criticized FBI management for not reacting more quickly to signs of leaks and for its"failure to devote priority attention" to the devastating loss ofCIA and FBI intelligence information from their Soviet intelligence operations.
But a bureau spokesman said some recommendations made by the inspector general's office in 1997, which included improving training and communication, were enacted and were responsible for Hanssen's arrest this week.
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