Six years after FBI agent Robert Hanssen was caught spying for Russia, the bureau remains vulnerable to espionage from its own ranks, says a Justice Department report inspector general review reported by the Los Angeles Times. The FBI’s ability to track turncoats may work better in theory than in practice, says the report that gives mixed grades to the agency and its handling of threats from within.
The report cited the case of former FBI intelligence analyst Leandro Aragoncillo, who was convicted on espionage-related charges last year for sending dozens of classified documents to opposition leaders in the Philippines. FBI supervisors failed to act promptly on concerns of rank-and-file employees about Aragoncillo, said the report. The bureau has ageed to create a unit focusing exclusively on security breaches and to name an official from outside the agency to evaluate counterespionage evidence. Inspector General Glenn Fine said that the bureau failed to act on his recommendation to establish a central repository for derogatory information about FBI employees.