Jeanne Vertefeuille: CIA Spy Hunter

The CIA released a piece on the late Jeanne Vertefeuille (seen above in the center of the group photo), one of the CIA officers who caught CIA spy and traitor Aldrich Ames.

At first, I wanted to jump across the table and strangle him. But then I started laughing. It was really funny, because he was the one in shackles, not me.”

This was the reaction of CIA officer Jeanne Vertefeuille upon learning that Aldrich Ames, the most damaging mole in CIA history, had once given his Soviet handlers her name when they asked what other CIA official could be framed for Ames’s own treachery.

Fortunately that strategy did not pan out, and instead Jeanne led the internal task force that ultimately brought Ames to justice. It was the pinnacle of a long and memorable career in CIA.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/spy-catcher-jeanne-vertefeuille.html

You can also read my Counterterrorism magazine interview with Sandra V. Grimes (seen on the left in the above group photo) via the below link:

Grime worked with Jeanne Vertefeuille and helped catch Ames. She and Jeanne Vertefuille wrote Circle of Treason: A CIA Account of Traitor Aldrich Ames and the Men He Betrayed.

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2014/02/the-ames-mole-hunt-my-q-with-sandra.html

The Assets: ABC's Dropped Drama Based On The True Story Of The Uncovering of CIA Spy And Traitor Aldrich Ames Now On ABC On Demand

I was sorry to learn that ABC canceled The Assets, which dramatized the CIA's search for a spy and traitor who gave up all of the top Soviet "assets," after only two episodes.

The spy and traitor turned out to be CIA officer Aldrich Ames. Many of the assets, also known as agents, Ames betrayed were later executed by the Soviet KGB.

I suspect ABC expected to bring in ratings like the fictional espionage series The Americans and were disappointed when they did not.

Thankfully, ABC On Demand is now offering the rest of The Assets on Comcast Cable. I watched the rest of the series and I enjoyed it.

So if you have ABC On Demand and you're interested in the history of espionage and/or enjoy a good true spy story, then you might want to watch The Assets.

One of the spy hunters, and the co-author of Circle of Treason, the book the series is based on, is former CIA officer Sandra Grimes.

I interviewed Sandra Grimes for Counterterrorism magazine before the TV series aired. You can read my interview with her via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2014/02/the-ames-mole-hunt-my-q-with-sandra.html

The Ames Mole Hunt: My Q & A With Sandra Grimes, Former CIA Officer, Mole Hunter, And Author Of "Circle Of Treason"

My interview with Sandra V. Grimes, one of a team of CIA officers who helped uncover spy and traitor Aldrich Ames, appears in the current issue of Counterterrorism magazine.

Circle of Treason is an account of the "Ames Mole Hunt" written by two former CIA officers who were key members of the CIA team that conducted the hunt for a spy within the CIA.

Sandra V. Grimes and Jeanne Vertefeuille were two of the five principals of the CIA team tasked with hunting one of their own and were directly responsible for identifying Ames as the mole, leading to his arrest and conviction.

Aldrich Ames has been called one of the most destructive traitors in American history and the CIA's notorious traitor. The CIA officer provided information to the Soviet Union that contributed to the deaths of at least ten Soviet intelligence officers who spied for the United States.

You can read the interview below:

Note: The above photos were provided by the Naval Institute Press. 

You can click on the above photos to enlarge.

'The Assets' Explores Real-Life Aldrich Ames Spy Case

My Q & A with former CIA officer Sandra V. Grimes, one of a team of "mole hunters" who brought down CIA officer, tratior and Soviet spy Aldrich Ames, will appear in the upcoming issue of Counterterrorism magaine.

So it was with some interest that I read Andrea Morabito's piece in the New York Post on the upcoming ABC series on the Aldrich Ames spy case.

ABC is offering an antidote for “Scandal” fans missing their weekly rush during the drama’s midseason hiatus — with another story of feisty female DC operatives pursuing the truth and taking names.

The eight-part miniseries “The Assets,” premiering Thursday at 10 p.m., tells the true story of CIA officers Sandy Grimes and Jeanne Vertefeuille as they track down notorious mole Aldrich Ames at the end of the Cold War — an apt subject to capitalize on the popularity of spy dramas playing out on the small screen and in the headlines.

... “This is a true story. What we hope and we thought is if people are interested in ‘Homeland’ and they’re interested in ‘The Americans’ . . . to find out that there’s two real women that were breaking the glass ceiling and doing this stuff for real, that will help drive people to us.”

The bulk of “Assets” takes place in 1985 when Grimes, played by British actress Jodie Whittaker (“Broadchurch”) and Vertefeuille (Harriet Walter) are racing to save Soviet intelligence officers (“the assets”) from being caught and killed based on intel leaked by Ames (Paul Rhys).

It’s adapted from the 2012 book “Circle of Treason: A CIA Account of Traitor Aldrich Ames and the Men He Betrayed” by Grimes and Vertefeuille, who started at the CIA as typists and quickly rose through the ranks at a time when the agency was an Ivy League boys club.

“Their persistence is what caught Ames. They went to their bosses and said there is a problem here, there is something going on, you have to believe us,” Hertzan says.

“Even Ames himself said he was ‘glad these two broads are running the back room because they’ll never figure it out,’ ” adds executive producer Rudy Bednar.

You can read he rest of the piece via the below link:

http://nypost.com/2013/12/31/the-assets-how-two-cia-agents-busted-infamous-80s-era-spy/

You can also read my previous post on the Ames spy case via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/12/a-look-back-at-cia-traitor-and-soviet.html

A Look Back At The CIA Traitor And Soviet Spy Aldrich Ames

ABCNews offers a look back at Aldrich Ames, the CIA officer who became a traitor and Soviet spy. (He is seen in the above photo with his wife Rosario). Ames gave up the names of several "assets" in Russia who subsequently executed.

You can watch the broadcast via the below link:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/feb-24-1994-aldrich-ames-arrested-espionage-21372905

I recently interviewed former CIA officer Sandra V. Grimes for Counterterrorism magazine. Sandra Grimes was one of the CIA officers who uncovered Aldrich Ames (she is seen in the above team photo on the left).

Grimes and  Jeanne Vertefuille (seen in the center of the above photo) wrote an account of their "mole hunt" in the CIA, which lead to their uncovering Ames as a spy called Circle of Treason (Naval Institute Press).

I'll post the Sandra Grimes interview here when it is published.

Note: The above photos were provided by the Naval Institute Press.

Two Women CIA Officers Who Brought Down The Traitor Aldrich Ames

Susan Reimer at the Baltimore Sun wrote an interesting column about an interesting book called  Circle of Treason: A CIA Account of Traitor Aldrich Ames and the Men He Betrayed (Naval Institute Press). 

Jeanne Vertefeuille and Sandra Grimes could be George Smiley's people.

They were recruited on their college campuses by the Central Intelligence Agency during the height of the Cold War. Jeanne wanted travel and adventure. Sandy didn't know much about the CIA; she just needed a job.

Jeanne and Sandy. That's how they refer to themselves in the book they co-authored, "Circle of Treason."

It tells the story of these two women — Jeanne worked her way up from the equivalent of the steno pool, while Sandy was immediately in the Soviet division (and over her head) because she could speak Russian — and how they brought down the most devastating traitor in the history of the agency: Aldrich Ames.

Their meticulous investigation and combing of records also revealed losses that could not have come from Mr. Ames. They pointed more to the FBI and eventually led to a traitor in its midst, Robert Hanssen, who spied for the Soviets for 22 years, doing damage that more than rivaled that done by Mr. Ames. Both men are serving life terms for espionage. Those they betrayed were executed.
"Circle of Treason" is the first book about the decade-long mole hunt not written by academics or journalists but by members of the team that uncovered the spying of Messrs. Ames and Hanssen.

You can read the rest of the column via the below link:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-reimer-aldrich-ames-20121217,0,3484978.column

• X
  Maurice Sendak lit up dark corners of childhoodWhat is the right number of blows to the head?Dads and diaper makers hug it outThere's no debateAre we ready for myalmamater.com? From Annapolis to AfghanistanAt home with the Jesuses 'Eat, goats. Eat!'Presidential campaign 'legitimately' toxic?Grown-ups failed accused Perry Hall shooterWhy did David Petraeus have to step down from the CIA?With Mega win, life would be a beachSheila Dixon — making women look bad all over againWarmer winter wakes up the gardenPresidential election or abortion referendum?Building a pre-retirement nest Commencement speakers: the rude, the unfunny and the insightfulThe board game that launched a lifetime of errand running