>>> WELCOME BACK TO MOSCOW. SO TODAY RUSSIA EFFECTIVELY
KICKED OUT SOME DIPLOMATS. IT WILL ALLOW ONLY 455 AMERICANS
TO KEEP SERVING HERE, WHICH IS THE EXACT SAME NUMBER OF RUSSIAN
DIPLOMATS LEFT SERVE IN THE U.S. AFTER THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION
KICKED OUT SOME OF THEM. THIS KIND OF TIT FOR TAT IS
NOTHING NEW NEITHER IS THE FACT THAT SOME EMBASSY STAFF ARE
REALLY JUST SPIES UNDER WHAT'S CALLED OFFICIAL COVER.
EVERYONE KNOWS IT, IT'S JUST PART OF THE GAME.
AND TODAY'S ACTION FROM THE RUSSIANS IS ONLY THE LATEST MOVE
IN THE GAME WHICH HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR DECADES.
♪♪ IT'S A GAME THE U.S. AND RUSSIA
HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR DECADES. IN THE COLD WAR DAYS OF MAD
MAGAZINE CALLED IT SPY VERSUS SPY.
BUT THE TRUTH IS IT WAS ALWAYS THE RUSSIANS WHO EXCELLED AT
CLOAK AND DAGGER TO TURN AMERICANS INTO RUSSIAN AGENTS.
EARLY ON WHEN COMMUNISM WAS STILL AN UNTAINTED PROMISE, IT
WAS IDEOLOGY. THAT'S WHAT WORKED WITH THE
DIPLOMAT WHO ACCOMPANIED FDR TO THE CONFERENCE AND LATER WENT ON
TO BECOME THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE CONGRESS THAT FOUNDED THE
U.N. HE WAS EXPOSED BY A "TIME"
MAGAZINE EDITOR AND FORMER COLUMNIST.
>> I AM NOT AND NEVER HAVE BEEN A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY.
>> CHAMBERS LED FEDERAL AGENTS TO HIS MARYLAND FARM WHERE OUT
OF A PUMPKIN PATCH HE PULLED FIVE ROLLS OF FILM CONTAINING
SECRET DOCUMENTS FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT.
SECRETS HE CLAIM HE GOT FROM ALGER HISS.
HISS WAS SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN PRISON FOR PERJURY.
THEN THERE WAS RUDOLPH ABLE WHOSE STORY BECAME THE FILM
"BRIDGE OF SPIES." HE IMMIGRATED TO THE U.S.
THROUGH CANADA AND LIVED UNDERCOVER AS AN ARTIST AND
PHOTOGRAPHER. HE PROCEEDED TO TURN HIS
BROOKLYN STUDIO INTO A SPY LAB AND HOLLOWED OUT NICKEL COINS
THAT CONTAINED VERY TINY PHOTOGRAPHS OF CODED MESSAGES.
EVENTUALLY ABLES' ASSISTANT TURNDS HIM IN.
HE WAS SWAPPED IN EXCHANGE FOR AN AMERICAN PILOT ON THAT VERY
FAMOUS BRIDGE OF SPIES. THEN IN 1994 WE FINALLY LEARNED
WHY THE CIA MIGHT HAVE HAD SUCH A HARD TIME RECRUITING SPIES OF
ITS OWN. >> SINCE THE CLOSING DAYS OF THE
SOVIET UNION. THE SUSPECTED SPY IS THE HIGHEST
RANKING CIA OFFICIAL EVER ACCUSED.
>> HE WAS A 31-YEAR VETERAN AT THE CIA.
THE FBI CAUGHT HIM AFTER THEY FOUND THIS TORN UP NOTE HE WROTE
FOR HIS KGB CONTACT. WHEN HE HAD SOMETHING FOR THEM
OR WANTED TO MEET, HE WOULD USE CHALK TO MA RK A POST OFFICE BOX
ON THE ROUTE. IN EXCHANGE FOR AMERICAN
SECRETS, MR. AIMS RECEIVED $2.5 MILLION.
AIMS IS CURRENTLY SERVING A LIFE SENTENCE WITHOUT PAROLE.
HE HAD BURNED MORE CIA AGENTS THAN ANY OTHER SPY IN U.S.
HISTORY UNTIL THIS GUY. >> THE NIGHT THE FBI HAS UNDER
LOCK AND KEY ONE OF ITS OWN. A VETERAN FBI AGENT WITH ACCESS
TO THE MOST SENSITIVE AND HIGHLY CLASSIFIED INFORMATION IN THE
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. >> ROBERT HANSON WAS RESPONSIBLE
FOR KEEPING TABS AND CAPTURING RUSSIAN SPIES IN THE U.S.
IN 1985 HE SENT AN ANONYMOUS NOTE VOLUNTEERING HIS SERVICES
TO THE KGB IN EXCHANGE FOR $100,000 IN CASH.
HE PICKED HIS OWN DEAD DROPS WHERE HE COULD LEAVE PACKAGES
FOR HIS HANDLERS. HE PROVIDED THE RUSSIANS WITH
MORE THAN TWO DOZEN COMPUTER DISCS AND MORE THAN 6,000 PAGES
OF VALUABLE MATERIAL. IN EXCHANGE FOR THE INFORMATION,
MR. HANSON WAS PAID $1.5 MILLION.
HE IS CURRENTLY SERVING 15 LIFE SENTENCES IN A SUPERMAX PRISON
IN FLORENCE, COLORADO. WHEN THE COLD WAR ENDED, THE
RUSSIANS WERE CONSUMED WITH THE TOTAL ECONOMIC COLLAPSE THAT
FOLLOWED AND AMERICANS WERE HAPPY TO DECLARE VICTORY AND
MOVE ON. BUT IN RUSSIA, A FORMER KGB
AGENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN CAME TO POWER AND MADE REBUILDING AND
REENERGIZING THE SPY AGENCIES A TOP PRIORITY.
MOSCOW STILL HAD SOME ASSETS LEFT OVER FROM THE OLD DAYS.
>> YOU CAN CONTROL WHAT YOU DO. >> IF YOU THINK THAT THE
AMERICANS IS THE STUFF OF FANTASY, THINK AGAIN.
>> THIS IS THE TAKEDOWN OF A RING OF RUSSIAN SPIES OPERATING
DEEP UNDERCOVER. THE RUSSIANS WERE SENT HERE AT
INDIVIDUALS, PAIRED UP, GOT MARRIED AND POSED AS THE FOLKS
NEXT DOOR. >> TEN PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED,
INCLUDING FOUR COUPLES AND MOSCOW WAS SENDING IN NEW SPIES
TOO. IN 2015 IN NEW YORK, THREE
RUSSIAN AGENTS WERE CAUGHT RED-HANDED AFTER THE FBI FED
THEM FAKE SECRET DOCUMENTS IN BINDERS WITH HIDDEN MICROPHONES.
ONE OF THE THINGS THEY TALKED ABOUT WAS THEIR EFFORTS TO
RECRUIT AGENTS, INCLUDING ONE DESCRIBED IN THE CRIMINAL
COMPLAINT AGAINST THREE RUSSIANS AS A MALE APPROACHEDs ON OR
ABOUT APRIL 8th, 2013 AS INTELLIGENCE SOURCE.
THEY WERE FRUSTRATED WITH THIS GUY.
THEY CALLED HIM AN IDIOT. BUT HE PROCEEDED TO HAND OVER
DOCUMENT TO ONE OF THE SPIES. THAT YEAR THE FBI PAID THAT
AMERICAN MALE A VISIT. THAT MALE WAS A FUTURE TRUMP
CAMPAIGN FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER, CARTER PAGE.
AND LAST YEAR PUTIN LAUNCHED THE BIGGEST SPY GAME YEAR, A
MULTIPRONG ATTACK ON AMERICAN DEMOCRACY THAT SOME HAVE CALLED
THE POLITICAL EQUIVALENT OF 9/1 IS.
THE GAME IS ON AND THE STAKES HAVE NEVER BEEN HIGHER.
PUTIN WAS ONCE ASKED WHAT HE WAS AN EXPERT AT.
READING PEOPLE WAS HIS ANSWER. IT'S A SKILL HE DEVELOPED AT THE
KGB AND IS PUTTING TO USE ON THE WORLD STAGE.
FEW PEOPLE HAVE SPENT AS MUCH TIME AS DANIEL HOFFMAN HAS
STUDYING WHAT PUTIN IS THINKING AND HE BELIEVES HE KNOWS WHAT
PUTIN IS THINKING NOW. >> THE RUSSIANS HAVE A SAYING,
IT'S -- [ SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE ]
IT MEANS THAT FREE CHEESE CAN ONLY BE FOUND IN A MOUSE TRAP.