PSH-23-0042 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On May 16, 2023, an Administrative Judge determined that an individual's access authorization under 10 C.F.R. Part 710 should be restored. The Individual is employed by a DOE contractor in a position that requires him to hold a security clearance. In May 2022, the Individual was arrested and charged with Domestic Battery (1st) following a physical altercation with his girlfriend (Girlfriend) in a hotel room, which resulted in a cut above her eye. A police report, taken after the incident, indicated that the Girlfriend stated that the Individual had punched her in the face. At the hearing, the Girlfriend and the Individual testified that, on the day of the incident which preceded the arrest, the couple had consumed a substantial amount of alcohol while on a vacation. As such, they both have limited memories of the day, and neither of them remember the Individual punching the Girlfriend. The Individual testified that he recalls the Girlfriend falling in the hotel room, and he additionally recalls a physical altercation that occurred when he prevented the Girlfriend from leaving the room due to her intoxication and out of concern for her safety. The Girlfriend testified that she does not remember speaking to law enforcement, but she believes that the events she described in the police report stemmed from her reliving the trauma of a previous abusive relationship. The Girlfriend noted that the Individual has never been violent or aggressive with her, and she does not believe that he punched her . The Administrative Judge found that the police report contained various errors and contradictions. She additionally found that the Girlfriend's injury was not consistent with a punch to the face. As such, the Administrative Judge found that the Individual had sufficiently mitigated the Guideline J security concerns. Accordingly, she concluded that the Individual's access authorization should be restored . (OHA Case No. PSH-23-0042, Quintana)