Clearance Applicant Claims Wife Ratted Him Out to FBI Over Upcoming Divorce

I ran across one of the more colorful Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals cases in which the applicant, a defense contractor and retired USAF veteran, was initially denied security clearance eligibility due to concerns with personal conduct and handling of protected information. Here are the highlights of the case.

The applicant had a Top Secret with SCI access for over 30 years, both in the military and as a defense contractor, and had received annual training on how to handle and protect classified information. Despite this, in 2010 he deliberately took home classified emails. This led to the FBI investigating him after they received an anonymous tip about him storing the emails in his garage. During his appeal hearing, the applicant claimed his wife at the time was the one who was responsible for notifying the FBI because she wanted a financial advantage during the forthcoming divorce proceedings. In 2011, he took a classified document home and afterwards burned it so that it would not be discovered. In 2016, after the FBI closed their investigation with no formal charges, his clearance was suspended and he was let go by his employer.

Although presented under personal conduct and not criminal conduct, the applicant also had a long history of domestic violence and child abuse incidents from 2001-2016 with his ex-wife and his current wife with whom he had separated and then reconciled. The DOHA judge noted that the applicant’s conduct regarding the mishandling of classified information was egregious and inexcusable, and that his history of interactions and arrests with law enforcement displayed a continued lack of reliability and trustworthiness. Clearance eligibility denied! You can read the whole appeals summary here.