Foreign influence can create security clearance pitfalls.

• Author: Moorhouse, Richard L.
• Position: ETHICSCORNER - Column

* Many companies are hugely dependent on classified work. Key employees holding security clearances must therefore take actions and avoid situations that would put their clearances at risk.

The Defense Department has extensive guidelines on conditions that could disqualify an employee from obtaining or keeping a clearance, as well as those positive factors that may mitigate disqualifying conditions. See DoD Directive 5220.6 (Jan. 2, 1992).

Once a background investigation reveals potential disqualifying conditions, the department through the defense personnel security division issues a "statement of reason" to the applicant identifying these conditions and requesting a response as to why the conditions should not preclude the Defense Department from granting or continuing the clearance. The applicant can also present his or her case before a defense office of hearings and appeals administrative judge.

Under well-settled law, an applicant has no protected "right" to a security clearance. Once the department makes a basic showing that disqualifying conditions exist, the applicant is burdened to rebut alleged facts or otherwise establish mitigating conditions. The governing standard is whether granting the clearance or continuing the clearance is "clearly consistent with the national interest."

Many disqualifying conditions exist under the guidelines such as financial difficulties, drug and alcohol misuse, deviant behavior, untruthfulness and deceitful conduct.

"Foreign preference" conditions frequently arise when an applicant has dual citizenship and possesses a passport from the foreign country of origin. This disqualifying condition is further aggravated by renewing the passport after becoming a U.S. citizen, and particularly so if the applicant used the foreign passport to enter or leave the country in question although he or she also held a U.S. passport.

Foreign preference concerns also arise if the applicant takes actions that are "red flags" confirming the applicant's regard for that country over the United States. Voting in that country's elections, holding political office, or serving in, or allowing children to serve in that country's armed forces, are some examples.

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While dual citizenship due to birth by itself is not a disqualifying condition, it may become so if an applicant takes affirmative steps to secure or maintain that dual citizenship, or obtains dual citizenship for U.S. born children.

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