How to Catch a Russian Spy -- Naveed Jamali

For three nerve-wracking years, Naveed Jamali spied on the United States for the Russians - or so the Russians believed. Hear Naveed bring his unbelievable, yet true, story to life.
By trading thumb drives of sensitive technical data for envelopes of cash, he pretended to sell out his own country across noisy restaurant tables and in quiet parking lots. Although he had no formal espionage training, with the help of an initially reluctant FBI duo he ended up at the center of a highly successful counterintelligence operation that targeted Russian espionage in New York City.
With news about Russia’s disintegrating relationship with the United States a frequent headline and political hot topic, How to Catch a Russian Spy is the one-of-a-kind story of how one young man’s post-college adventure became a real-life US counter-intelligence coup.
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[@grahamstrouse1165]

The Gorbachev joke was pretty good. :-)

[@ded8848]

What a premier drunkard he was

[@traceywelsh9696]

It's a great joke

[@jaykay1053]

@@ded8848 You might be thinking of Yeltsin. Too bad Putin used Yeltsin’s alcoholism against him, fooling Yeltsin into naming him successor; meanwhile the Kremlin was watching Trump, and then Putin began watching & grooming him.(My opinion, belief.) 22 years later, here we are. Ukraine’s neighbourhoods are now battlefields.

[@jaykay1053]

It’s definitely a great joke! I love how this guy was just a typical patriotic American University guy with the perfect cocktail party joke.

[@phincampbell1886]

It's a classic joke! Famous. There's a whole load of Russian jokes like this, political-social jokes, (there may even be a specific word in Russian for the genre,) maybe Google would have some kind of list of them, or something. I don't know what you'd search, I've not tried, but it'd be worth it if it exists.

[@nickjung7394]

Hilarious and entirely believable. A narrative worthy of American ability to see the humerous side of really quite serious events. Thank you.

[@titaniumdiveknife]

Thank you Naveed.

[@guillermorocha6661]

Extremely funny the trunk story. Probably the other guy thought "too stupid to be dangerous..."

[@grahamstrouse1165]

😁👍

[@sharonduggins7332]

Love this guy!

[@parrotraiser6541]

A missed opportunity there. They could have let Oleg go, (since he was totally compromised), set up his successor, and kept on feeding the Russians disinformation.

[@jaykay1053]

Parrot Raiser... Sounds like FBI needed to burn this guy’s relationship with GRU completely. Maybe for a few reasons.

[@rauldempaire5330]

I 'll bet the Russians are now watching a whole bunch of American movies! Amazing story!

[@keithrogers4170]

In the UK,our class system meant that men from a private school/oxbridge background were instinctively regarded as "one of us,the old boy network". This is how Kim Philby,Guy Burgess,Donald Maclean and Anthony Blunt were above suspicion,as was Sir Roger Hollis,a bishops son who became the head of Mi5,and went on to become the highest placed soviet agent of them all.

[@James_Bowie]

... and the closer you are to UK royalty, the more you can get away with.

[@phincampbell1886]

And Blake?!

[@keithrogers4170]

@@phincampbell1886 Yes that’s the injustice of the whole class system.Blake,who was from a working class background received a 40 year sentence,unlike Anthony Blunt who was given total immunity…you could’nt make it up could you?

[@brucebalsam2127]

I haven't seen the movie however I think Jon Lovitz should have been cast to play your role.

[@robbienorton9522]

haaa! that would be perfect as much of bumbling guy he was admittedly in his own story.

[@brucebalsam2127]

@@robbienorton9522 I was thinking about the role he played in Inglorious Basterds.

[@thebigcw852]

Apparently even the FBI is too afraid to mess with IRS

[@kronos458]

A message to Russian agents: Do not mess with grandiose full-scale narcissists.

[@cybulskiya8725]

Him casually name dropping harvard in the first 5 minutes made dislike him immediately

[@zoomonkeydotcom2005]

@@cybulskiya8725 why ? the dude is bright and worked at Harvard… that’s offensive?

[@cybulskiya8725]

@@zoomonkeydotcom2005 offensive is the wrong word, id say insufferable

[@zoomonkeydotcom2005]

@@cybulskiya8725 how so ?

[@tatianalyulkin410]

Guys, he's New Yorker. We can be insufferable sometimes. Give him a break.

[@99gypsies]

I enjoyed this, but if they wanted Oleg to think that they were busting Naveed for being a spy, then why would he have opened the trunk to reveal that there was nothing in it? That means, without question, that he was not a spy, but was working with the FBI, who "busted" him a minute later -- and in case there was any doubt, he also missed the last meeting, with a lame excuse, so Oleg was already suspicious, which is why he changed restaurants last minute. Also, if he had actually been busted, it would have been in the newspaper and he would have gone to jail, and the 20,000 other Russian agents in the US could easily find out that he was roaming free -- got into the Navy, and did not go to trial, let alone jail. So, why did the FBI bother to act out the "busting" that was so obviously fake?

[@jaykay1053]

99gypsies... you sound right to me. Maybe the details of the “bust” have been massaged to hide sources and methods.

[@NOHA-MANQABAT]

Love Jamal😘🇺🇲

[@juhokojima6669]

The best spies are those that we know nothing about.

[@Temptresstoo]

"like regicide"...what an odd thing to say.

[@lallen4999]

Well,he probably meant the Prince,right?

[@KoolT]

Hey put closed caption on these please

[@jjjmac2003]

Was the movie ever made ? If it was I totally missed it.

[@kellymm7630]

Should be a movie 🍿

[@petermurray2414]

It is not fake. Very capable fellow, quick thinker, would succeed at all business, superb salesman, fooled one Russian and could fool most of us. No need for him to fake it.

[@bryanskscion2229]

He Is probably fooling us now oh, he's been in the pocket of the Rhodesia remnant the whole time.

[@leonstrand329]

@@bryanskscion2229 naa, hes probably telling the truth, mostly. I have a feeling that his Ego is in control here. He reeks of narcissism.

[@KoolT]

30 :15 just brilliant like pur family Brilliant and hilarious¹

[@KoolT]

28 :00 lmbo great stories here. Hilarious and amazing.

[@JamesBlevins0]

What is the music for the introduction and "outro"? It reminds me of "The Sheltering Sky" by King Crimson (Discipline)....

[@grahamstrouse1165]

Brown Kryptonite would have been a cooler codename...

[@diankreczmer6595]

No disrespect here, but is this what is meant by "useful idiot "

[@GeckoCkCkCk]

Oleg had immunity. Why should he be worried about the FBI.

[@tatianalyulkin410]

Guys, you're forgetting it was Perestrojka time. Who in his right mind would want to have his cover blown and sent back to Russia?

[@jaykay1053]

Also, maybe GRU wouldn’t want Oleg to be watched 24/7.

[@alejoblanco1867]

You should rewatch Independence Day, tons of great tips there for how to "work" us...

[@mrlucasftw42]

The Gorbachev joke!

[@johnnolen8338]

Not to say that I doubt any of this, but it seems to me as though this entire operation accomplished very little and did so at a potentially very high cost. Not to say that the US Government has never been guilty of doing ridiculous things for vague and unjustifiable reasons but the end of the story makes no sense. 🤔

[@joanneblack7697]

So they did all this to find out what were the things the Russians were most interested in? In what areas were they lacking info? It does seem strange.

[@johnnolen8338]

@@joanneblack7697 In my opinion there are less risky ways of figuring out what your adversary wants to know than by regurgitating a bunch of high value information just to see which chunks of it they like best. Having Jamali go all cloak & dagger as on the job training for becoming a real spook later on is something I just don't buy. The FBI, the CIA, even the military all have legitimate training programs for people who they want to play James Bond. It's not like any of them have or need AAA farm teams like in Major League Baseball. Besides putting Jamali, or anyone for that matter, in position where they might be stabbed, kidnapped or tortured by people that you're not going to be able to arrest anyway due to diplomatic immunity is too keystone cops even for the FBI. (An organisation I used to respect before it became politically weaponized.)

[@joanneblack7697]

@@johnnolen8338 I tend to agree. If all this stuff was "open source", I'm still not clear as to why they would throw this untrained civilian into the mix. It sounds ... exaggerated? Idk.

[@NickSteffen]

@@joanneblack7697They don’t really get to decide who to throw in to the mix. You just have to approach the people who are already involved. They could of stopped it at the beginning and the Russians would just look for more sources and perhaps a one they didn’t know about. It’s almost better to let them have access and ensure they know everything they have access to as well as get info about their tactics and recruiting practices. You also know where someone like Oleg will be because of these meetings and can follow him to find new sources. It’s likely the extent of everything discovered wasn’t revealed.

[@invisibleillnessashley8850]

It seems like he thought the whole thing was a big joke to him and he didn’t take it seriously at all.

[@James_Bowie]

MICE: Money, Ideology, Compromise or Coercion (depending on source), and Ego or Extortion (depending on source).

[@tatianalyulkin410]

What happened to " R " - revenge?

[@joanneblack7697]

@@tatianalyulkin410 I always wondered why that was not part of the acronym. It's a heck of a motivator. Maybe it comes under ego? Or perhaps someone seeking revenge might be unstable or too much of a loose cannon? Just like he said ... coercion is their least favorite, because someone being forced is less stable?

[@tatianalyulkin410]

@@joanneblack7697 Maybe.But I want you to think about something. What if Konstantin Rokossovsky had refused to forgive and forget those three years of torture and humiliation and surrendered to the Germans at the first opportunity just like Malyshkin was so convinced he would? What if he- not Vlasov- was the head of the ROA? We could be living in a totally different world.

[@joanneblack7697]

@@tatianalyulkin410 I don't know the specifics of who these people are or what the ROA is. I'll have to Google them. I was just making a general comment.

[@tatianalyulkin410]

@@joanneblack7697 I'm sorry, I thought this was the intelligence community. My mistake. 😀

[@AuraCraft]

17:18 Oleg's card 17:24 pic

[@BubbaMacks]

Would it be safe to disclose all this???

[@zacharylapointe8287]

What ever happened to the movie?

[@adrianaproudcatholic]

How to catch a Russian spy? Easy. Just ask Vodka or beer?

[@joanneblack7697]

😅😅😅

[@mroberts2738]

I’m gonna …. Gorbachev 😂

[@pagarb]

It is pretty funny.. but when the Russians see this video they might not be so very amused.. This guy was the perfect character for a role like this..

[@leonstrand329]

Hummm, is anyone else's Narcissist detector going off?

[@kronos458]

Uff, a grandiose narcissist type : - The story about me - They are all stupid and naive - I am in charge - Body Language

[@joanneblack7697]

It seems like to do this kind of work, you almost have to be high on the Narcissistic traits, and maybe Sociopathic/ Psychopathic traits. (Part of which is feeling very little fear.) I'd be way too scared to engage in stuff like this. Nor would I think "I'm too important for them to kill me." Uhm ... ok. 🙄

[@jonathanmurray1863]

Do you no Ed O'Malley

[@KoolT]

M.I.C.E.

[@KoolT]

10:00 lmbo

[@KoolT]

29:05 lmao

[@KoolT]

11:37 book list

[@jesimielmillar6770]

"You're Not Smart Enough to Counter-Act", you say! Well, SMART is not necessary to COUNTER-ACT-U, because: "YOU HAVE VERY little INTELLIGENCE!" Under-Stood?" - Jesimiel Millar (1-26-22) 8:45 PM

[@mikeballard8404]

Trashing Snowden again. How much money is he getting ?

[@mariocasarez3896]

Snowden is a Russian asset, that's a fact!!!

[@danielwilson4656]

Snowden is a traitor.mnothing more

[@pmexplore]

What's the movie?

[@TheDennisgrass]

imdb.com provides information on all movies. Search for: "How to catch a Russian Spy"

[@professorsogol5824]

As of early 2021, the movie appears to have not made it out of production hell. No such film is included in Marc Webb's Filmography.

[@joanneblack7697]

@@professorsogol5824 Maybe delayed by COVID ... or like a lot of movies ... just never went anywhere.

[@oriorda9470]

Problem with Houghton was always there never was a 3 word expression he couldn’t spend 2 paragraphs saying

[@MrSdoubtfire975]

I want to see the one titled “How to catch an American spy”.

[@James_Bowie]

Easy, you properly check the backgrounds of all CIA and FBI agents.

[@josephcharland7396]

Read up on hoe Aldrtch Ames was caught

[@marciasloan534]

Dude,Your cover is BLOWN

[@1benny09]

*They drink vodka* easy to spot 'em

[@KoolT]

18:27 cagey

[@tatianalyulkin410]

Yeah, but Naveed is not supposed to be a professional FBI person. How is he supposed to remember what happened 8 months ago? I don't remember what I ordered from The Hamilton Collection two weeks ago and I'm supposed to be the surrogate sister of an FSB Colonel. 😀

[@joanneblack7697]

😆😆😆 Good one.

[@alexharson5267]

What exactly was he providing this makes no sense

[@joanneblack7697]

It sounds like a long game. At first, they're gathering open source material from him, but hoping it's on the DL because they're ordering from a "small bookstore". (?) Then later, they ask him to get onto that database (DTEK) ? And gather more sensitive stuff from there? Them when he said he would be going into the Navy, he would be even more valuable to them, because he'd have a higher access level to stuff. (Remember the hand drawn chart Oleg gave him?) I'm not totally clear on it either. 🤔

[@nazareeeee534]

Russian HUMINT is impossible to keep up with. Let's be honest.

[@giuseppenero110]

uh..uh..uh..uh...uh..uh..uh..uh..uh..was enough for me

[@marciasloan534]

This is crazy. What do you mean You can get this stuff,but it isnt Something RUSSIA shouldnt have ? Makes no sense

[@seaneastman8817]

They mentioned that. It's called "open source" information or intelligence. It's not restricted.

[@awannagannaful]

So basically, after 9/11 this guy did the patriotic thing by... chasing after a guy from a country that had nothing to do with it and actually helped the US to fight terrorism... Well done

[@gulrezrana1839]

America is great country they hired a half Pakistani God bless this country

[@cheesecakesmellsgood]

As if intelligence officers are allowed to do any of the publishing talky work.. ГРУ is also probably having a laugh. But at least he sold his book..

[@KazenoniKakuremi]

He testified in front of the Intel Committee few weeks back....or google his name and restrict results to military sites and you'll find he's official But these spies are the known and accepted spies i.e. ambassdors ets...not the deep undercover guys that if caught...we say...to the Russian's...no idea who he is... Russia: So we kill then...olay Us: Yep, cool this stuff aint the state secret sh88....hence the so open discussion....but his story is legit...like I said...just search gov and mil sites and he his story pops up

[@headdragondavidaustinsimmo4025]

They crucified me Jesus and Simon he is Buddha

[@anng.4542]

The story about how and where Naveed's parents met... priceless! 💘💘💘

[@BK-uf6qr]

Funny but this guy is a little to full of himself, which gets old. A little humility would be appreciated.

[@topwarmeowmix2628]

All for a letter of recommendation! Beautiful man! Perfect example why we must support immigration.

[@johann.9271]

This guy lives in Cloud Cuckoo Land.

[@agoogleuser3942]

Loose lips lad - not professional

[@emalove2087]

What about how to catch American(CIA) spy?

[@tyronemarcucci6991]

I saw a movie made about this on TV.

[@jamesalafayette8255]

No you fucking didn’t

[@Earth098]

8:06 How does protesting Vietnam war make them hippies??? That ways the sensible thing to do

[@texaspatty4697]

A hippy was a nonconformist, often poorly adjusted or who was against the status quo, not just the war. But to protest the war seemed pretty radical back then, disruptive, in-your-face.

[@Earth098]

@@texaspatty4697 Okay, so according to your definition, republicans who oppose gay marriage today, should be labeled as hippies. Because it's almost a settled issue now, and widely accepted.

[@joanneblack7697]

@@Earth098 Not really. Every generation has their own jargon and names for things. Hippie used to mean lots of things to lots of different people. Such as a guy with long hair, people who dressed like late 60's Rock Stars, people who smoked weed, people who opposed the Vietnam War, etc. So "Hippie" is pretty much a word that's "taken". It refers to that era, mostly. Today, the Republican you describe might be referred to as "alt-Right" by Republicans who are against gay marriage. A Republican who supports gay marriage might be called a "RINO". These are both new terms of the current era. Another new word that didn't exist in the late 60's is "ANTIFA". So, the words are not just definitions ... they very much signify an era.

[@adrienpinard9508]

The statuesque bathroom distinctively zip because history distally strip before a different tablecloth. abaft, perpetual pike

[@thewall014]

Its not fake I am a russian spy

[@midnighttutor]

An amusing story but let's be frank: who on earth would ever believe that this guy had access to actual classified US material? Buying open source books, although interesting for the subject matter, does not exactly qualify as "counter espionage". I don't see how anyone on the US or Russian side got anything of value other than this guy with his book and movie deals. He is charismatic but give me a break. If he were now as a USN officer doing the same thing...that would be a valid story.

[@99gypsies]

He said it was not classified; but they did give him a security clearance, which is no big deal anyway -- they give every Tom, Dick, and Harry (mainly consultants, and many from foreign countries) security clearances these days -- or they did, before Trump. I believe a million people had TOP SECRET clearances when Trump took office. What you say makes no sense -- if he were a USN officer doing the same thing, it would have value? Who cares what his title is -- it either has value or it does not. Obviously it had value to the Russians, who worked with him for years and were willing to pay for it. Obviously it had value to the FBI -- who wanted to know what the Russians wanted to know and what they did know. (They also want to know how they work and what they are up to.)

[@cynthiaallen9225]

I've known many idiots with clearances.

[@LivingDead53]

I wish Putin would pay me, or the CIA could for the times we shared near Langley. Maybe Marilyn Manson? I want to retire on Hideaway street in peace. I want the house I google and the five million dollars (both after taxes). I think I had the best experience. I should learn to show it off, flaunt and brag. Anyway, you sent Gerald who actually scared me. He's the only one I've ever feared. My brain is trashed. Not that I was ever bright though. I will read and write in peace by the lake.

[@frostreaper6077]

100% fake

[@San47di]

Strange how these True events seems to attract so Many TROLLS!! That's how we all know it's TRUE!!

[@johnpettersen9492]

Frost Reaper statistics are 33% made up

[@kulak8548]

found the russian bot

[@gaylemc2692]

Q member

[@LivingDead53]

By the way, no need to injure me. Why didn't you take me to the crazy ward? the meds work great. I'm a little fat, but I consider it my burka, not that I'm a Muslim.

[@LivingDead53]

@Azmol Hossain when I bloomed, people were jealous of me or assumed that I was trying to be a gold digger because I wouldn't partner with the hobo and share in these people's miserable lives of conformity and their thoughts of what my life should be. It's a social stress I have to deal with a lot, and it destroys me at work and everywhere else. Last time, they tried to use Putin, and it was like, WTF? Now that I'm ugly, I'm a lot safer.

[@LivingDead53]

It's like, almost every female is beautiful is pretty when they bloom. It takes a lot to avoid being cute at that age. It's like, you lost your youth, it's okay.

[@KevinT318]

Can't trust this guy.

[@zoomonkeydotcom2005]

Why ?

[@mariocasarez3896]

He is an American hero.

[@ninirema4532]

very good luck and great success working all gentle🏕🏕🏕🐺🐺