FSB: CIA crossed ‘red line’ with agent Fogle

The CIA has crossed a certain ‘red line’ in professional ethics of intelligence as American spy Ryan Fogle attempted to recruit a Russian agent, an FSB operative told RT.

“In case with Fogle, the CIA crossed the red line and we had no choice but to react observing official procedures,” a representative of the Russian Security Service, the FSB, said in an interview with RT. 

The spy story broke earlier this week after it was made public that Fogle – who had worked under the guise of a third secretary at the US Embassy in Moscow – was detained after being caught red-handed trying to recruit a Russian intelligence officer for the CIA. Following the incident he was expelled from Russia.

As early as by autumn 2011, the FSB was aware that the CIA was pursuing a goal to get an informer within the Russian special services, the agent told RT.

“Those were not one-off events, which caused our concern,” the operative pointed out. “Therefore, we decided to warn our American colleagues and ask them to stop these activities.”

At a time, the FSB did not make public any information they knew about the CIA operations in Moscow, but held a meeting with the head of their station’s chief in Moscow, Stephen Holmes.

Ryan Christopher Fogle, third secretary of the Moscow US embassy's political department, seen at the Federal Security Service's reception office, on having been detained after making an attempt to recruit an employee of one of the Russian secret services. (RIA Novosti/FSS)

“We hoped our American colleagues would hear us, given that we also presented to them precise information about CIA officers making recruitment attempts in Moscow and who exactly was doing that,” the source added.

In particular, back then, the FSB named such American agents as Benjamin Dillon, third secretary of the American Embassy in Moscow. Last year, “Dillon got into the same story as Fogle” and was expelled from Russia in January, the source said.  

“Hoping that the CIA would make necessary conclusions from the incident, we did not make that case public,” he said. Apparently, the Americans did not appreciate the FSB’s “correct attitude towards professional ethics.”

The FSB was aware that Ryan Fogle worked for the CIA since his arrival in Moscow in April 2011. Russian intelligence, “keeps an eye on” representatives of all foreign special services and the American intelligence agency is no exception to the rule, the source noted.

“The point of such an approach is to terminate all possible actions by foreign intelligence that could pose a threat to Russia’s security,” the operative said. “This, certainly, does not refer to diplomats who do their duties on behalf of the US State Department.”

Federal Security Service agents detaining CIA agent Ryan Christopher Fogle, on having made an attempt to recruit an employee of one of the Russian secret services. (RIA Novosti/FSS)

The CIA did not respond to two warnings from Russia, while the desire to wriggle through agents into the Russian special services “remained very high .”

Before the case with Fogle, there were three similar cases with CIA officers, the FSB agent said. While Fogle and Dillon were expelled from Russia, others left the country voluntarily.  

The FSB believes that following the latest spy scandal the Americans “will draw right conclusions .” The source pointed out that the US and Russian special services cooperate very closely in countering terrorism and exchange information on the matter.

“I’m confident that the incident [with Fogle] will not affect the development of cooperation in that area ,” the source stated. “However, the confrontation between intelligence and counter-intelligence will always remain in place .”

The FSB also shared with RT a record of a phone conversation between Dillon and an unnamed Russian person, where the alleged CIA agent discusses a possible “job” with the Russian man.