Pretext: I have been a federal contractor who has held a DoD clearance since 2009. That is, until February 2018 when DoD CAF abruptly denied me clearance, without an ongoing reinvestigation or PR, when someone in Scattered Castle saw that CIA denied me clearance in 2015. Regarding the CIA denial of clearance; I received a SOR a while after applying for a contracting position with the agency. Admittedly, I felt intimidated and defeated. In retrospect, I regret not appealing within the deadline. Legal experts who have read the respective SOR called it ridiculous. It was based on guideline B; foreign influence.
There is a report, “Security Clearance Process: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions”. See https://fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/R43216.pdf. On page 14 it notes, “[…] with certain exceptions, a security clearance granted by one agency must be accepted by other agencies, though it is difficult to determine the degree to which reciprocity of security clearance background investigations and determinations actually occurs between agencies.”
Based on the passage, and my circumstances, I am curious if it is probable that a security clearance denied by one agency may be accepted by other agencies, on reciprocity? DoD CAF’s disclosed yesterday they will not issue a SOR based on ‘reciprocity with the CIA SOR issued in 2015’, does not sit right. Can this be legal? They suggested appealing directly with CIA, knowing all too well that ship has sailed.
I am working with an attorney. However, desperate times lead to desperate measures. Henceforth, here I am to educate myself on any advice. Any input from you would be highly valuable.
Reciprocity infers you were granted a clearance and another agency can use that decision. In your case you were not granted a clearance. Since the investigation itself is more than two years old the DOD cannot request a copy for their own adjudication. Based on the information you provided you money would be better spent elsewhere rather than for an attorney who can do little for you. Should you seek cleared employment you will have to undergo the process from scratch.
This sounds bad to me. Does this mean that “continuous evaluation” will include people scouring databases to see if someone has ever been denied a clearance with another agency in the past? And then revoking their clearance with no chance at appeal?
No, this means reciprocity does not apply in this case and after a year after being denied he can apply for a cleared position. He starts the process from scratch.
I am referring to his original statement that somebody checked SC not as part of any periodic reinvestigation. Could they have been tasked to do some kind of scrub?
Of course we don’t know all the details here. But the bottom line is that is is disturbing that somebody who is currently cleared could lose that clearance because of a prior denial. There are lots of stories of people who applied with Agency X and got turned down, but later were hired by Agency Y. Are they at risk now? I’m talking about the MERE FACT OF A PREVIOUS DENIAL being the issue… and like I say, we don’t know all the details of this particular case.
That is a normal part of the security process: checking to see if there is a clearance or investigation that can be used in lieu of initiating a new one. The fact that he was denied in 2015 should not prevent them from initiating a new one.
@Marko and @sbusquirrel, thank you for your insightful discussion. Here is the followup to your inputs:
As my responsibilities increased at work, I needed certain certificates to work on JWICS. I was the one who called SC help desk that fateful day. The associate over the phone saw the CIA denial of clearance from 2015, panicked, and said I should have never been hired on the contract. I informed him I was forthcoming at the time of hire with the FSO and all whom it concerned. He overreacted and within hours, I was escorted out of the building. So no, there was no scrub requested on me, and there was no CE either.
I am seeking consultations with legal firms to further educate myself. One lawyer said, "If you had an active clearance in February 2018 – and were working with DoD (even as a contractor) then they would have to revoke your active clearance - not deny it. If they revoked it then they are required to provide you due process – which requires notice, the SOR and an opportunity to appeal. If you were applying for a position at DoD and they denied your clearance – they are still required to provide you due process that includes written notice, a SOR and an opportunity to appeal.
Clearance denials are not accepted as “reciprocity.” However, they may use derogatory information obtained from another agency to initiate a denial or revocation.
Did you receive any written notice of denial or revocation from DoD CAF?" (My answer to her = No, I was told I will not receive one based on reciprocity from the CIA SOR in 2015).
@sbusquirrel no case of any audit whatsoever. Any info they have on me is from me. I am an ideal citizen based on the other 12 guidelines. It is messed up because one thing I cannot change are the FNCs who are non-nefarious, of course. I would certainly wish to receive -anything- from the DoD CAF to have an opportunity to do something about it.
I wouldn’t be so sure that appealing the decision would have been positive. Like you, I was denied a CIA clearance for foreign influence - but despite being told by multiple lawyers that the reasoning was ridiculous, my appeal (written and presented by a seasoned clearance lawyer) was still denied.
As disappointing as it must have been for you, I want to have that chance. As of this writing; DoD CAF has decided they will not issue me SOR or LOI, based on the reciprocity from CIA SOR in 2015. They know all too well that ship has sailed.
What did you do to move forward since that denial?
ha ha I much rather have a 9-5 honest day at work. I might be the first ever case where reciprocity is used for a security clearance denial from another agency. I have a lawyer now.