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Foxnews.com:CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames, who sold US secrets to the Soviets, dies in prison at 84

WASHINGTON (AP) — CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames, who betrayed Western intelligence assets to the Soviet Union and Russia in one of the most damaging intelligence breaches in U.S. history, has died in a Maryland prison. He was 84.

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons confirmed Ames died Monday.

Ames, a 31-year CIA veteran, admitted being paid $2.5 million by Moscow for U.S. secrets from 1985 until his arrest in 1994. His disclosures included the identities of 10 Russian officials and one Eastern European who were spying for the United States or Great Britain, along with spy satellite operations, eavesdropping and general spy procedures. His betrayals are blamed for the executions of Western agents working behind the Iron Curtain and were a major setback to the CIA during the Cold War.

He pleaded guilty without a trial to espionage and tax evasion and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Prosecutors said he deprived the United States of valuable intelligence material for years.

He professed “profound shame and guilt” for “this betrayal of trust, done for the basest motives,” money to pay debts. But he downplayed the damage he caused, telling the court he did not believe he had “noticeably damaged” the United States or “noticeably aided” Moscow.

“These spy wars are a sideshow which have had no real impact on our significant security interests over the years,” he told the court, questioning the value that leaders of any country derived from vast networks of human spies around the globe.

In a jailhouse interview with The Washington Post the day before he was sentenced, Ames said he was motivated to spy by “financial troubles, immediate and continuing.”

Ames was working in the Soviet/Eastern European division at the CIA’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia, when he first approached the KGB, according to an FBI history of the case. He continued passing secrets to the Soviets while stationed in Rome for the CIA and after returning to Washington. Meanwhile, the U.S. intelligence community was frantically trying to figure out why so many agents were getting discovered by Moscow.

Ames’s spying coincided with that of FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who was caught in 2001 and charged with taking $1.4 million in cash and diamonds to sell secrets to Moscow. He died in prison in 2023.

Ames’s wife, Rosario, pleaded guilty to lesser espionage charges of assisting his spying and was sentenced to 63 months in prison.

Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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Originally posted by Sig2340:
The ... level of incompetence that allowed Ames to betray American for decades.

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Originally posted by architect:
What is the book referred to in the video? I watched it, but I don't think they ever named the book.

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Originally posted by Sig2340:



I knew a woman who was on the team that exposed Ames. Sadly she died of cancer in 2015. On her mantelpiece was a simple coffee mug with the image of an American eagle clucking a mole in its talons. I knew where she worked, and so I asked. She told me as much of the story as she could (most was and will remain classified).

The amazing thing is the level of corruption we are seeing a blind eye turned to with respect to welfare and Medicare/Medicaid fraud is shiockingly similar to the level of incompetence that allowed Ames to betray American for decades.

O]

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Originally posted by Rey HRH:

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Originally posted by Sig2340:



I knew a woman who was on the team that exposed Ames. Sadly she died of cancer in 2015. On her mantelpiece was a simple coffee mug with the image of an American eagle clucking a mole in its talons. I knew where she worked, and so I asked. She told me as much of the story as she could (most was and will remain classified).

The amazing thing is the level of corruption we are seeing a blind eye turned to with respect to welfare and Medicare/Medicaid fraud is shiockingly similar to the level of incompetence that allowed Ames to betray American for decades.

O]

It's hard for me to think he turned just because of the money. I wonder if he was turned through manipulation at first to get him under their control, something like a honey pot. His admission without trial makes me think he was trying to keep under wraps even more stuff that would have been embarrassing to him than just simple money.

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Originally posted by architect:
What is the book referred to in the video?