Russian intelligence worked at the US Embassy for more than a decade?

The US Embassy building in Moscow. Photo: TASS

The Russian woman had worked for the Secret Service for years and came under suspicion during one of the State Department's regional security office's routine security assessments in 2016, the official said.

The security office discovered that the woman had regular, unauthorized meetings with the Russian intelligence agency FSB.

“We found that they were all talking to the FSB, but she gave them more information than was allowed,” the official said.

The regional security office alerted the US Embassy in Moscow in January 2017 and the woman was fired last summer after being caught red-handed, the source said.

“We knew what was going on and it was just a process of pretending to go along and giving her details and then seeing her disclose it to the FSB,” the official said.

The woman had access to the Secret Service's internal network and email system, but "this was not a matter of national security," the official said. "She did not have access to classified information," the official said.

A source familiar with the matter said the woman in question was actually employed by the State Department, but worked for the Secret Service at the embassy. All foreign nationals are technically employed by the State Department, and then assigned to jobs by various agencies.

The US State Department declined to comment, saying it “does not discuss allegations involving intelligence or personnel matters, and has no information to provide regarding this alleged incident”.

In a statement on August 2, the US Secret Service asserted that the woman had never held a position with national security secrets. The statement did not directly address this specific incident or the allegations against the woman: “At no time in any US Secret Service office has a foreign employee been provided or placed in a position that would allow access to national security information.”

The agency “recognizes that all foreign personnel providing support services to our mission, administrative or otherwise, may be subject to foreign intelligence influence.”

“This is particularly emphasized in Russia,” the agency added. “As such, all foreign service personnel are appropriately managed to ensure that the interests of the Secret Service and the U.S. government are protected at all times. As such, their duties are limited to translation, interpretation, cultural guidance, liaison, and administrative support.”

The Secret Service added that part of the responsibility of the foreign agent positions in Moscow is to “support representatives and agencies by liaising with the Russian government, including the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), and the Russian Federal Protective Service (FSO) to further the interests of the U.S. Secret Service.”