Clearance Applicant with a Full House of Issues

Usually, security clearance applicants who are denied eligibility for access to classified information have one or two disqualifying factors that cannot be mitigated. Well, a recent Department of Energy (DOE) contractor takes the cake, hitting over half of the thirteen national security adjudicative guidelines. Here are the highlights from his appeal to the DOE Office of Hearing and Appeals:

• Criminal conduct – burglary, theft, driving while intoxicated, possession of marijuana
• Alcohol abuse – driving while intoxicated; consumes 10 beers in a sitting just to get drunk
• Illegal use of drugs – use of marijuana from 1999-2017
• Personal conduct – dishonesty and lack of candor in not disclosing required information on the SF-86 and changing his testimony during multiple interviews and during the appeal
• Financial considerations – delinquent on income taxes to the tune of $20k; Seven other delinquent accounts
• Foreign influence- various foreign business investments which were not disclosed
• Employment misconduct – ineligible for rehire at five previous employers for various reasons (one for failing a drug test)
• Psychological condition – was diagnosed as having an Anti-social Personality Disorder (APD) that led to generally poor decision-making

Interestingly, the DOE decided to only use Guideline I: Psychological Conditions as the disqualifying factor for clearance eligibility. According to their psychologist, all of the behaviors that led to the other issues stemmed from his APD. Despite the applicant’s attempt to reassure the judge he was no longer drinking, using illegal drugs, is married, and now financially stable, no concrete evidence or mitigation was provided. Clearance denied!