FBI True season 4 episode 3 release date and time

FBI True season 4 episode 3 is slated to hit CBS on Tuesday, November 14, at 10 pm EST or 9 pm CT on Paramount+. The episode is titled Hunting Hanssen: America’s Deadliest Traitor and it will focus on Robert Hanssen, a suspected spy accused of espionage. The case was described as "possibly the worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history" and the subject matter will reportedly be explored in episode 4 of the show as well.

It is important to note that there is a change in the release time for FBI True season 4 episode 3. The previous installment, premiering on November 7, will release at 9 pm EST or 8 pm CT, an hour earlier than the air time for Hunting Hanssen: America’s Deadliest Traitor.

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What to expect in FBI True season 4 episode 3?

The upcoming episode will shed light on an FBI investigative specialist, Eric O'Neill, who was Robert Hanssen's assistant on paper. However, in reality, the young surveillance specialist was tasked to watch over the suspected spy. Hanssen reportedly carried out three cycles of spying for the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) until his arrest on February 18, 2001.

As per Rotten Tomatoes, the synopsis for FBI True season 4 episode 3 reads:

“An FBI investigative specialist with no undercover training goes undercover and comes face-to-face with Robert Hanssen, a suspected spy.”

As mentioned earlier, the case will also be explored in episode 4, which will release on November 14 as well. The tail end of the episode 4 description says that O'Neill "manages to win the trust of suspected spy, Robert Hanssen - or so he thinks," indicating that there is more than what meets the eye.

Each episode of the crime documentary spans 30 minutes and since two episodes usually release together, each FBI True drop is 60 minutes long.

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Hanssen joined the FBI on January 12, 1976

As per the website, Hanssen joined the FBI on January 12, 1976, and soon became the "most damaging spy in Bureau history." His alleged espionage activities began in 1985 and he reportedly used the alias “Ramon Garcia” to provide national security information to Russians. He allegedly did this in exchange for diamonds, $1.4 million in cash, and more, as per the FBI.

He reportedly compromised several documents, techniques, investigations, and more. It was in the 1990s that officials realized that there was a "mole" in the department, who had been sending classified information to the Russians. Years later, in 2000, the FBI and CIA got their hands on the original documentation of an American spy. They believed this was Hanssen and an investigation reportedly confirmed the same, as per the FBI website.

In January 2001, Hanssen was moved to an office in the FBI Headquarters that had surveillance cameras and mics. O’Neill, posing as his assistant, was then tasked with keeping an eye on his every move.

While promoting his memoir titled Gray Day: My Undercover Mission to Expose America's First Cyber Spy, published in 2019 by Penguin Random House, Eric O’Neill told the New York Post that he wanted to talk to the arrested spy but was not allowed to.

“I would like to ask him why he did it…He has never answered that question for anyone. It’s the one scrap of power he’s kept for himself,” he said.

O'Neill, now 50, quit the FBI in May 2001, months after Hanssen's incarceration. His story was showcased in Breach, a 2007 movie.

FBI True season 4 episodes 3 and 4 are scheduled to release on CBS on Tuesday, November 14, at 10 pm EST or 9 pm CT.