Danchenko told others that if they got jobs in the government and obtained classified security clearances, they might be put them in touch with people so they could “make a little extra money.” The coworker did express suspicion of the employee and had questioned the possibility that the employee might actually be a Russian spy, the FBI memo says.

The FBI opened a full counterintelligence investigation on Danchenko after discovering that he was an associate of two other subjects of FBI counterintelligence probes, the FBI assessment says.

FBI databases also showed that Danchenko had contact in September 2006 with a Russian intelligence officer. The memo says that the intelligence officer invited Danchenko to his office at the Russian embassy. There, Danchenko allegedly told the officer that he was interested in entering the Russian diplomatic corps. The intelligence officer contacted Danchenko four days later to work “on the documents and then think about future plans,” the memo says. The following month, Danchenko contacted the Russian intelligence officer, and mentioned finding out whether “the documents can be placed in tomorrow’s diplomatic mail pouch.”

Two interview subjects said that Danchenko “persistently” asked them about their knowledge of a U.S. military vessel.