David Henry Barnett
Encyclopedia
David Henry Barnett was a CIA officer who was convicted of espionage for the Soviet Union
in 1980, becoming only the second CIA officer to such a fate after Edwin Moore II, a retired CIA employee who was arrested by the FBI in 1976 after attempting to sell classified documents to Soviet officials.
From the 1960s until 1970, Barnett was employed by the CIA, working in both the United States and Asia (he was stationed in Indonesia from 1967 until 1970 and before that in South Korea). He then entered private business. But within six years, he had amassed debts of over $100,000 and faced imminent financial ruin. To rectify his problems, Barnett chose to sell classified information to the Soviets. In 1976, he approached KGB
officers in Jakarta
, Indonesia
and offered to sell them the names of CIA assets.
Over the next three years in meetings held in the Embassy of the Soviet Union in Vienna, Barnett revealed to the KGB
the identities of some 30 CIA officers. Additionally, he handed over a great deal of classified information gathered by the CIA on a clandestine operation, code-named HA/BRINK, that had focused on the acquisition of examples of Soviet military hardware sold to the Indonesians during the Sukarno
era, including an SA-2
guidance system, designs for the Whiskey class submarine
, the Riga class frigate
, the Sverdlov class cruiser
, the P-15 Termit
anti-ship missile and the Tu-16 Badger bomber. He also revealed a lot about CIA operations and informants in Indonesia and South Korea. The Soviets paid him a total of $92,000 for information received between 1976 and 1977.
On instructions from his KGB
handlers
, which included Oleg Kalugin
, Barnett applied for staff positions on the Senate
and House
intelligence committees and the President's Intelligence Advisory Board but was unsuccessful in finding a job. In January 1979, however, he was rehired by the CIA as a contract agent and if undetected, he could have gone on to betray further CIA secrets.
Later in the year however, Barnett was identified as a spy thanks to information given by a KGB officer stationed in Jakarta
, Col. Vladimir M. Piguzov, who had been recruited as double agent by the CIA. Ironically, Piguzov himself was betrayed by Aldrich Ames
in 1985 and subsequently executed. Barnett was questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and resigned from his CIA job. In October 1980 Barnett pleaded guilty to espionage charges, admitting that he had sold CIA secrets to the Soviets. He was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment and was paroled in 1990. He died on November 19, 1993.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1980, becoming only the second CIA officer to such a fate after Edwin Moore II, a retired CIA employee who was arrested by the FBI in 1976 after attempting to sell classified documents to Soviet officials.
From the 1960s until 1970, Barnett was employed by the CIA, working in both the United States and Asia (he was stationed in Indonesia from 1967 until 1970 and before that in South Korea). He then entered private business. But within six years, he had amassed debts of over $100,000 and faced imminent financial ruin. To rectify his problems, Barnett chose to sell classified information to the Soviets. In 1976, he approached KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
officers in Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and offered to sell them the names of CIA assets.
Over the next three years in meetings held in the Embassy of the Soviet Union in Vienna, Barnett revealed to the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
the identities of some 30 CIA officers. Additionally, he handed over a great deal of classified information gathered by the CIA on a clandestine operation, code-named HA/BRINK, that had focused on the acquisition of examples of Soviet military hardware sold to the Indonesians during the Sukarno
Sukarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...
era, including an SA-2
S-75 Dvina
The S-75 Dvina is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude, command guided, surface-to-air missile system...
guidance system, designs for the Whiskey class submarine
Whiskey class submarine
Whiskey-class submarines are a class of naval submarines that the Soviet Union built in the early Cold War period.-Design:...
, the Riga class frigate
Riga class frigate
The Riga class was the NATO reporting name for class of frigates built for the Soviet Navy in the 1950s. The Soviet designation for these ships was Storozhevoi Korabl Project 50 Gornostay . The Riga class were analogous to World War II era destroyer escorts.-Design:These ships were a smaller and...
, the Sverdlov class cruiser
Sverdlov class cruiser
The Sverdlov class cruisers, Soviet designation Project 68bis, were the last conventional cruisers built for the Soviet Navy; 13 ships were completed before Nikita Khrushchev called a halt to the programme as these ships were considered obsolescent with the advent of the guided missile...
, the P-15 Termit
P-15 Termit
The P-15 Termit is an anti-ship missile developed by the Soviet Union's Raduga design bureau in the 1950s. Its GRAU designation was 4K40, its NATO reporting name was Styx or SS-N-2. In Russian service today it also seems to be called the Rubezh...
anti-ship missile and the Tu-16 Badger bomber. He also revealed a lot about CIA operations and informants in Indonesia and South Korea. The Soviets paid him a total of $92,000 for information received between 1976 and 1977.
On instructions from his KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
handlers
Agent handling
In intelligence organizations, agent handling is the management of agents, principal agents, and agent networks by intelligence officers typically known as case officers.-Human intelligence:...
, which included Oleg Kalugin
Oleg Kalugin
Oleg Danilovich Kalugin , is a former KGB general. He was a longtime head of KGB operations in the United States and later a critic of the agency.-Early life and the KGB career:...
, Barnett applied for staff positions on the Senate
United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is dedicated to overseeing the United States Intelligence Community—the agencies and bureaus of the federal government of the United States who provide information and analysis for leaders of the executive and legislative branches. The...
and House
United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
The United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is a committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by Mike Rogers. It is the primary committee in the U.S...
intelligence committees and the President's Intelligence Advisory Board but was unsuccessful in finding a job. In January 1979, however, he was rehired by the CIA as a contract agent and if undetected, he could have gone on to betray further CIA secrets.
Later in the year however, Barnett was identified as a spy thanks to information given by a KGB officer stationed in Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, Col. Vladimir M. Piguzov, who had been recruited as double agent by the CIA. Ironically, Piguzov himself was betrayed by Aldrich Ames
Aldrich Ames
Aldrich Hazen Ames is a former Central Intelligence Agency counter-intelligence officer and analyst, who, in 1994, was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia...
in 1985 and subsequently executed. Barnett was questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and resigned from his CIA job. In October 1980 Barnett pleaded guilty to espionage charges, admitting that he had sold CIA secrets to the Soviets. He was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment and was paroled in 1990. He died on November 19, 1993.