Podcast Episode #68 - A CIA Traitor's Last Asset with Bryan Denson
CIA case officer Jim Nicholson joined the CIA in 1980 after service in the US Army as an intelligence officer. He proved himself a capable case officer, rising steadily through the ranks and serving all over the world, particularly in Asia.
But as his career moved onward and upward, his marriage to his wife Laurie gradually broke down. Jim was a serial philanderer and his multiple affairs drove a wedge between them. After they began divorce proceedings in 1992, Jim realized he would not be able to pay alimony, pay a divorce lawyer, care for his children, or live the lifestyle he was accustomed to on just his CIA salary alone.
That eventually led him to betray his organization, and his country. During a scheduled meeting with the SVR at the Russian embassy in Malaysia in June 1994, Jim asked for $25,000 to cover his mounting expenses. A relationship began which would continue for the next two years; Jim providing classified information to the SVR in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Eventually his activities were uncovered with the help of a Russian defector, and he was arrested at Dulles Airport outside of Washington DC, and sentenced to a lengthy prison term.
That should have been the end of his crimes; but it wasn’t. From inside the federal prison at Sheridan OR, Jim recruited his own son Nathan to make contact with the Russian government and provide them with information in exchange for much-needed funds. Nathan acted as a courier for his father, traveling all over the world to meet with an SVR representative, taking messages back and forth between them.
Nathan acted out of love for his father; for all of his other faults, Jim had always cared for his children to the best of his ability. But his own espionage caught up with him and Nathan was forced to face the reality that his own father had manipulated him into selling out his country.
For episode 68 of the Spycraft 101 podcast, I spoke with Bryan Denson, author of The Spy’s Son, about the Nicholson case and it’s shocking second act.
You can buy Bryan's book The Spy's Son here: httphttps://amzn.to/3YpnvEs
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