In the national security world, ignorance or mistake of law is generally not an excuse for failing to abide by legal obligations. This opinion has been established long ago by appeals board judges in upholding security clearance denials. There are various adjudicative guidelines where claiming ignorance of the rules or

On the Questionnaire for National Security Positions (SF-86) in the section labeled “Penalties for Inaccurate or False Statements” it states: The U.S. Criminal Code (title 18, section 1001) provides that knowingly falsifying or concealing a material fact is a felony which may result in fines and/or up to five (5) years imprisonment.