Steven L. Hall (also known by thediplomatic cover nameStephen Holmes) is a retired AmericanCentral Intelligence Agency officer who served for 30 years before retiring in 2015. He was theCIA station chief at theU.S. Embassy in Moscow, and later served as Chief of the Central Eurasia Division, overseeing intelligence operations in the countries of the formerSoviet Union andWarsaw Pact. His identity was publicly revealed by the RussianFSB in May 2013.
After retiring from the CIA, Hall became aCNN national security analyst and commentator on Russian affairs. In October 2020, he was among 51 former intelligence officials who signed a letter stating that reporting onHunter Biden's laptop had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation". In January 2025, PresidentDonald Trump revoked the security clearances of all 51 signatories.
Hall joined the CIA in the mid-1980s and spent 30 years in theClandestine Service, primarily managing intelligence operations inEurasia andLatin America.[1] He served asChief of Station at multiple overseas posts and was a member of the Senior Intelligence Service, the cadre of senior-most leaders in the CIA's Clandestine Service.[2]
Prior to his retirement, Hall served as Chief of the Central Eurasia Division, overseeing intelligence operations in the countries of the former Soviet Union and the former Warsaw Pact. At CIA headquarters, he also focused on cyber threats, security and counterintelligence, and counterterrorism. He served as the Clandestine Service's senior liaison officer to congressional intelligence oversight committees.[2]
Hall served as CIA station chief in Moscow, the top U.S. intelligence representative in Russia. On May 17, 2013, his identity was publicly revealed by the Russian FSB in retaliation for theRyan Fogle incident, in which an American diplomat was detained while allegedly attempting to recruit a Russian intelligence officer.[3][4] The FSB stated it had warned the CIA station chief in October 2011 that it would take "symmetrical actions" if provocative recruitment attempts continued.[3]
The public exposure of a CIA station chief was described by intelligence experts as a serious breach of diplomatic protocol.[4] Hall retired from the CIA in 2015.[1]
After retiring, Hall became a national security analyst forCNN, providing commentary on Russian affairs and intelligence matters.[5] He has also contributed opinion pieces toThe Washington Post and appeared as a commentator onNPR.[1]
On October 19, 2020, Hall was among 51 former intelligence officials who signed a public letter stating that theNew York Post reporting onHunter Biden's laptop had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation".[6] The letter stated the signatories did not know whether the emails were genuine and did not have evidence of Russian involvement.[6]
On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order revoking the security clearances of all 51 signatories of the laptop letter. The order accused the signatories of having "willfully weaponized the gravitas of the Intelligence Community to manipulate the political process and undermine our democratic institutions".[7] Legal experts described the mass revocation as unprecedented.[8]
