PSH-22-0083 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On August 9, 2022, an Administrative Judge (AJ) determined that an Individual's access authorization under 10 C.F.R. Part 710 should not be restored. The Individual had a long -standing history of severe multi-substance abuse, including opioid abuse and had been diagnosed by a DOE Psychologist with both Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). In addition, the Individual had a longstanding history of failing to provide truthful, complete, and candid answers during national security investigative or adjudicative processes and engaging in omission and falsification in order to conceal his illicit drug use from the LSO. The Individual also had a history of illegal drug use after signing a DOE Drug Certification in which he promised to discontinue all illegal drug use. Further, the Individual waited almost two and a half years to report his enrollment in a treatment program for his opioid addiction, thereby violating his reporting obligations.

After the hearing, the AJ found that the Individual had shown through the submission of drug test results, that he had abstained from opioid use and other illegal drug activity for three and a half years . Accordingly, the AJ found that the Individual had resolved the security concerns raised by the Individual's OUD and illegal drug use.

The AJ similarly found that the security concerns raised by the individual's criminal conduct had been resolved since the Individual's criminal conduct consisted of his illegal drug use and acquisition.

The AJ found that the Individual had not resolved the security concerns raised by his AUD since he was still using alcohol and becoming intoxicated on a regular basis.

The AJ found that the Individual had an especially egregious and longstanding history of failing to provide truthful, complete, and candid answers during national security investigative or adjudicative processes and engaging in omission and falsification in order to conceal his illicit drug use from the LSO, noting that the Individual had a history of illegal drug after signing a DOE Drug Certification in which he promised to discontinue all illegal drug use; and had waited almost two and a half years to report his enrollment in a treatment program for his OUD, thereby violating his reporting obligations . The AJ found that some of the Individual's hearing testimony concerning these issues was of questionable candor, and therefore concluded that given the Individual's lengthy history of untrustworthiness and untruthfulness, those current examples of less than complete candor indicated that the security concerns raised by the Individual's history of deception remained unresolved.

The AJ therefore concluded that the Individual's access authorization should not be restored. (OHA Case No. PSH-22-0083, Fine)