Jury Told Witness in Miller Trial Is an ‘Admitted Liar’

Declaring that Richard W. Miller’s chances of acquittal in his espionage retrial hinge on the credibility of Svetlana Ogorodnikova, a federal prosecutor urged jurors Monday to disregard her testimony because she is “an admitted liar” and a convicted Soviet spy.

In closing arguments in Miller’s second trial on charges of passing secret documents to the Soviet Union, Assistant U.S. Atty. Russell Hayman said Ogorodnikova’s denials of wrongdoing in 13 days of testimony were motivated by a desire to appease the Soviet KGB.

“The KGB did not want her to say anything in her testimony that would reveal KGB operations or agents in the United States or embarrass the KGB in any way, and she did exactly what the KGB wanted,” Hayman said.

“She denied there was a KGB recruitment operation. She did not identify one KGB officer or agent in the United States. She wants to get out of jail. The only way she can in the near future is if the Soviets trade for her, and she knows they won’t do that if she displeases them in any way.”

Ogorodnikova, 36, pleaded guilty to espionage conspiracy with her husband, Nikolai, last June 26 in connection with the Miller case, but she disavowed her admissions after taking the stand April 22 in Miller’s retrial and declared that both she and Miller are innocent of any spy activities directed against the U.S.

During three chaotic weeks of testimony, Ogorodnikova denied receiving any FBI documents from Miller, although it was disclosed that she had secretly confessed through her attorneys at the time of her own guilty plea that she had been given classified information by Miller.

“She’s an admitted liar under oath,” said Hayman, noting that Ogorodnikova also disavowed previous confessions that she had taken Miller’s FBI credentials into the Soviet Consulate in San Francisco and knew that he was planning to pass FBI secrets to the KGB during a planned trip with her to Warsaw.

“Because she is an admitted liar under oath, you are entitled to reject her testimony outright,” Hayman added. “The government suggests you do precisely that. Svetlana was on the stand for three long weeks, as I’m sure you remember, and she lied to you day after day.”

Hayman told the jury that other witnesses had contradicted Ogorodnikova on virtually every key aspect of her testimony--including claims that she had been sexually involved with another FBI agent, John Hunt, before beginning an affair with Miller in May, 1984.

“Svetlana was willing to lie to you whenever necessary to avoid incriminating herself, her husband and Richard Miller,” the prosecutor said. “Her lies about Nikolai are so extreme that she characterized her husband as a beautiful, loving man, although testimony from other witnesses is that he beat her and that she hated him.”

Hayman’s closing arguments came after 14 weeks of testimony by more than 100 witnesses in the second trial of the first FBI agent ever arrested for espionage. Miller’s first trial on seven counts of espionage and bribery ended in a deadlocked jury last November, with the jury split 10 to 2 for conviction on three counts and 11 to 1 on four others.

Miller, 49, who was arrested Oct. 2, 1984, claims that he became involved with Ogorodnikova in a plan to mount an unauthorized double-agent operation in which he intended to become the first FBI counterintelligence agent to infiltrate the KGB.

“Miller knew he couldn’t mount a double-agent operation,” Hayman said. “He was told by (FBI counterintelligence trainer) David Major in 1982 that the FBI would never approve such a plan. It’s ridiculous to say he thought he could enhance his career by violating every standard of conduct for an FBI agent.”

One of Miller’s lawyers, Joel Levine, is scheduled to begin his closing arguments today. U.S. Atty. Robert C. Bonner will present the government’s final arguments later this week.