Beyrle had previously awarded Hatcher in May 2009 for his success in promoting freedom of religion and human rights in Russia, and commented that an element in Russia had attacked Hatcher to discredit him and his work as well as prevent the two countries from developing closer ties. Soldatov further noted that only Russian intelligence agents would be interested in smearing Hatcher to force his dismissal from Russia. In the course of the segment, retired FBI Counterintelligence Officer and Russian intelligence services expert David Majors pointed out that the video segments had been doctored to smear Hatcher and to reduce his effectiveness at his job. Major pointed out obvious flaws in the video sequence and assessed that the false media reports were a "dirty trick," constituting a failed attempt to frame Hatcher and ruin his reputation as a change agent in the human rights activist community. On September 24, 2009, State Department spokesperson Ian Kelly called Hatcher "one of our best" diplomats, and confirmed that Hatcher had been smeared with false media reports to discredit his work promoting human rights and religious freedom. Kelly noted that the State Department deplored this type of activity by the Russians at a time when diplomats like Hatcher were working to improve bilateral relations. In the February 19, 2017, episode of HBO series Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver called the FSB fake tape "ridiculous" as part of his larger commentary on the lengths to which the Kremlin will go to discredit its opponents. Prior to his service in the diplomatic corps, Hatcher served as an intelligence analyst with the Department of the Treasury, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, where he focused on fighting the sources of terrorism financing. In the summer of 2004, Hatcher conducted research for the Center for East Asian Studies in Vladivostok, Russia, where he focused on Russian attitudes towards Chinese migrants. He later presented and published a paper detailing his findings, which included a scathing commentary about Russian racism and xenophobia. Prior to his research in Russia, Hatcher worked in the private sector as a business manager, and he served in the Peace Corps as a volunteer in Kazakhstan (part of the former Soviet Union) where he taught economics at the Taraz Polytechnical College in Taraz, Kazakhstan. Former Soviet officials have long been skeptical of the Peace Corps as a cover for US spies, evidenced by Russia's decision to