Dan Hoffman
Appearances
The Journal.
Inside the Hunt for Putin’s Sleeper Agents
If convicted, he could face up to 20 years inside a Russian prison.
The Journal.
Inside the Hunt for Putin’s Sleeper Agents
The illegals really mean something to Putin on a personal level. I would say with a high level of confidence that he would be briefed on the tactics and the status of these illegals on a fairly regular basis, say once a month, he would be tracking it.
The Journal.
Inside the Hunt for Putin’s Sleeper Agents
They would send their intelligence officers overseas, principally to the West, the United States in particular, without any diplomatic backstopping. They would be posing as business people or academics, very deep cover. The risk of doing that is you don't have diplomatic immunity. So if you get caught, you're going to jail. But the benefit is that it's super hard to find these people.
The Journal.
Inside the Hunt for Putin’s Sleeper Agents
They had a very famous TV show in the 1970s, The 17 Moments of Spring. And the hero of this series was a guy named Stirlitz.
The Journal.
Inside the Hunt for Putin’s Sleeper Agents
But that's the lore of intelligence for the KGB. And when that TV show was airing in the 1970s, the Soviet citizens would stay home and watch it. The streets were empty because people were at home watching this TV show.