PSH-17-0068 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On March 7, 2018, an OHA Administrative Judge issued a decision in which he determined that an individual’s DOE access authorization should not be restored.  The individual had been indicted by a grand jury with eight drug-related conspiracy charges.  In addition, the individual had been allowing her adult son to live in her home, even though that son has a history of criminal activity, including illegal drug involvement.     

The Administrative Judge, found that the security concerns raised by the individual’s association with a person who was involved with criminal activity had been partially mitigated since  he was convinced that the individual has, through a combination of counseling, participation in Al-Anon, and the lessons she has learned from being charged with eight counts of conspiracy, become committed to establishing appropriate boundaries with her sons who engage in criminal activities, and learned the importance of avoiding any entanglement in their criminal activities.

However, the Administrative Judge found that the security concerns raised by the individual’s indictment with eight counts of Conspiracy for her alleged participation in a drug trafficking enterprise, had not been resolved.  The Administrative Judge found that those charges were serious, and raised grave concerns about her trustworthiness, reliability and judgment that must be resolved before restoring her security clearance.  While the Individual and her children maintain her innocence, the fact remains that the police have obtained sufficient evidence that she participated in the alleged conspiracy to convince a grand jury to indict her with these eight counts.  After a year-and-a-half, these charges have not been dismissed.  The Administrative Judge recognized the possibility that the Individual may ultimately be found innocent of the charges against her.  However, he found that the record was not sufficiently complete to resolve the concerns raised by her arrest.  The regulations provide that:  “Any doubt as to an individual’s access authorization eligibility shall be resolved in favor of the national security.”  10 C.F.R. §§ 710.7(a).  The record does not provide sufficient information for the Administrative Judge to understand why the charges were filed against the individual, and to conclude, in a manner consistent with the national security, that the Individual had not been involved in any of the eight alleged conspiracies.

Therefore, the Administrative Judge found that the individual had not resolved all of the security concerns raised by DOE.  OHA Case No. PSH-17-0068 (Steven L. Fine).