-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Spy Suspect Hanssen Pleads Not Guilty AP Thursday, May 31, 2001 Email this Article ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Former FBI agent Robert Hanssen was escorted amid heavy security into court on Thursday and pleaded innocent to federal charges of spying for Moscow, charges that could lead to the death penalty. Hanssen said "not guilty" when asked how he pleaded to the charges during his arraignment at U.S. District Court in this Virginia suburb of Washington. Plans were set for a trial to start Oct. 29. "We will be filing motions in federal court attacking this indictment," his attorney, Plato Cacheris, told reporters on the courthouse steps after what he estimated was a two-minute court session. "We've just set a new modern record for arraignments," he said. "That not guilty plea entitles him to a presumption of innocence," Cacheris said of Hanssen, who wore a green jumpsuit with the word "prisoner" on the back during the court appearance. Asked whether the Justice Department would bring in Russians as witnesses, Cacheris said, "We look forward to any Russians that want to come over and testify." In a federal indictment, Hanssen is accused of passing U.S. secrets to Moscow for 15 years in exchange for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds. The father of six could face the death penalty on charges that he identified Soviet agents secretly working for the United States who were subsequently executed. He also is accused of passing secrets about satellites, early warning systems, plans for retaliation against large-scale attacks and communications intelligence. Those charges also carry potential death sentences. The arraignment came after lawyers for Hanssen and the government reportedly failed to negotiate a plea. Lawyers for the veteran FBI agent have said the discussions stalled because the prosecution insisted the death penalty could be imposed for several of the 21 counts, refusing to waive that penalty in exchange for Hanssen's cooperation. Asked about this Thursday, Cacheris said he wasn't sure the death penalty would be constitutional in this case. "Probably not," he told reporters, who thronged to the courthouse to cover Hanssen's appearance. Hanssen agreed to waive his rights to a speedy trial, and his lawyers and prosecutors agreed to ask U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton for the Oct. 29 trial date. Both sides asked for a jury trial and Cacheris, standing at a podium in front of the judge, said, "Mr. Hanssen has been advised of his rights and has signed a document waiving the Speedy Trial Act." Under that act, the trial would have been set in 70 days. To get the October date, Hanssen had to sign a waiver. Prosecutors said they would file motions proposing a schedule of pretrial filings and discovery, and the judge agreed to review them. Hanssen was brought into the courtroom several minutes before the proceeding. The judge shook hands with Hanssen's lawyers and was handed something to sign. Hanssen chatted with his attorneys and smiled and nodded on several occasions. Federal prosecutor Randy Bellows told Hilton he would be submitting motions for dealing with classified information under the Classified Information Procedures Act. The law allows a court to decide how classified information should be handled in a public trial. Hanssen has been detained at an undisclosed location since his February arrest at a Virginia park as he allegedly delivered a package for pickup by his Russian handlers. In the past, the government has avoided taking espionage cases to trial because they could air national security secrets. Instead, they have entered plea bargains in which people accused of spying agreed to tell authorities details of their activities in exchange for lighter sentences. Congress resurrected the death penalty for spies in 1994 in response to the Aldrich Ames case. Ames, a veteran CIA officer accused of spying for more than eight years for the former Soviet Union, pleaded guilty that year and was sentenced to life in prison. The government has not sought the death penalty against a spy since the law changed. The last spies executed were Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1953. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? 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