PSH-23-0005 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On February 2, 2023, an Administrative Judge determined that an individual's access authorization under 10 C.F.R. Part 710 should be denied. The Individual is employed by a DOE contractor in a position that requires him to hold a security clearance. In completing a Questionnaire for National Security Positions (QNSP), the Individual provided answers that the DOE determined to be inaccurate. The Individual subsequently completed a Letter of Interrogatory (LOI), Enhanced Subject Interview ( ESI), and Triggered Enhanced Subject Interview (TESI), in which he again provided inaccurate or inconsistent information. At the hearing, the Individual acknowledged that he mistakenly or incorrectly answered many of the questions posed to him during the clearance application process. The Individual did not present evidence demonstrating that: ( 1) he made prompt and good-faith efforts to correct his omissions and concealments before he was confronted with the facts; (2) the concerning behavior was unlikely to recur; (3) the circumstances surrounding his relatively recent and repeated failure to provide accurate and candid answers did not cast doubt on his judgment, reliability, or trustworthiness; (4) he will be able to provide complete and fully candid answers to the DOE in future . As such, the Administrative Judge could not find that the Individual had sufficiently mitigated the security concerns associated with Guideline E. After considering the evidence in the record and the testimony presented at the hearing, the Administrative Judge determined that the Individual had not resolved the security concerns associated with Guideline E. Accordingly, she concluded that the Individual's access authorization should be denied. OHA Case No. PSH-23-0005 (Katie Quintana)