Brendan Kyle Hatcher

Who is Brendan Kyle Hatcher?

Brendan Kyle Hatcher is a United States diplomat who was called "the most closely surveilled American in Russia" by ABC News Investigative Reporter Brian Ross in a September 2009 investigative report. Hatcher gained notoriety in August 2009 after the Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda, a newspaper which Russian intelligence expert Andrei Soldatov ties to the Federal Security Services of the Russian Federation, showed a fake video of him while accusing him of being an undercover CIA agent in Russia. The media reports were quickly condemned by investigating authorities in the U.S. as fabricated.

According to Eli Lake of The Washington Times, Hatcher became one of several American diplomats and journalists to be attacked and falsely accused between 2007 and 2011 after the Obama Administration's "reset" with Russia. Hatcher served as Political Officer who worked to promote human rights and freedom of religion in Russia from 2008 to 2010. He was awarded in June 2010 by the State Department for his "courage and character, commitment to excellence, and support of human rights and religious freedom in spite of exceedingly difficult circumstances and personal hardship." As part of his job, Hatcher would meet with opposition figures, government officials, NGOs, journalists, and religious leaders to promote human rights and religious equality. Hatcher was fully exonerated by the media and State Department, and he was lauded by his colleagues for heroism.