Sources: Accused spy told wife he was 'tricking' Soviets

Hanssen pleaded not guilty to 21 counts of spying on May 31

By CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Accused spy Robert Hanssen convinced his wife that he sold information to the Soviets in 1979 only to trick them, according to government sources close to the investigation.

Bonnie Hanssen told investigators her husband confessed his alleged espionage activity to her only after she became suspicious, sources tell CNN.

She also said that he promised he would never engage in such activity again, the sources report. Hanssen, a veteran FBI agent, has been charged with spying for Moscow beginning in 1985, with prosecutors describing the damage done to national security as extremely grave.

If true, this initial confession to his wife suggests that he may have done even more damage than previously believed.

However, law enforcement sources tell CNN that investigators have been unable to prove any confidential information was given to the Soviets between 1979 and 1985.

But an informed intelligence source tells CNN that the possibility that Hanssen's alleged spying could have started earlier makes it "so important that we make sure we get every bit of information he has, so we can know what we're dealing with."

The government is currently negotiating a possible plea bargain with Hanssen that would spare him from facing the death penalty in return for his full cooperation.

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Sources say the purported first confession by Hanssen to his wife came when the family was living in Scarsdale, New York. Bonnie Hanssen told investigators her husband went to a Catholic priest there who counseled him to donate the money he received from the Soviets to charity, and Hanssen later told his wife he donated the money to Mother Teresa, sources tell CNN.

A source close to the investigation says the FBI has not interviewed the priest, and legal experts say it would be difficult to bring charges against a representative of the church.

"In our law there is a priest-penitent privilege. It can be breached if you bring someone else to counseling, unless someone else is under a privilege of their own," explained Paul Rothstein of Georgetown Law Center. "Here, bringing his wife along would not breach the privilege because there is a husband wife privilege."

Law enforcement officials tell CNN they have not been able to verify Bonnie Hanssen's story but have no reason to believe she hasn't been completely truthful. Sources say there is no evidence she knew of her husband's alleged activity after 1979, and there are no plans at this time to file any charges against her.

A federal indictment accuses Hanssen of taking $1.4 million in cash and diamonds as payment for passing U.S. secrets to Moscow. It states Hanssen compromised national security secrets, including the identities of U.S. spies, highly classified eavesdropping technology and nuclear war plans.

Prosecutors allege that information Hanssen gave to his handlers led to the deaths of at least two double agents.

Government sources say Bonnie Hanssen's knowledge will not impact ongoing plea negotiations. The government is considering a deal not to ask for the death penalty if Hanssen fully cooperates. Whether Bonnie Hanssen will be able to collect her husband's FBI pension is also being discussed.

In recent weeks, sources told CNN, the federal tug of war over whether to go ahead with plans to seek the death penalty have gone as high as CIA Director George Tenet, who favors keeping Hanssen alive, and to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who favors seeking the death penalty.

It is not known how much damage Hanssen inflicted on U.S. security. An FBI damage assessment could take a year to complete, FBI officials have said.