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ISCR Case 22-01907 — CASE

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ISCR Case 22-01907

A decided public DOHA case, shown for research — not advice or a prediction.

Case Profile
Decision Date4/8/2024
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Judge: Robert Robinson Gales
Government Counsel: William H. Miller
Applicant's Counsel: Matthew J. Thomas
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 26-year-old employee of a defense contractor who sought a security clearance after previously being granted a secret clearance in 2019. The Statement of Reasons (SOR) issued by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) raised concerns under Guideline H (drug involvement and substance misuse) and Guideline E (personal conduct). The allegations included the applicant's history of substance abuse and her failure to disclose this history on her security clearance application.
During the proceedings, the applicant admitted to the allegations regarding her drug involvement and personal conduct, including the use of marijuana, cocaine, and LSD during her college years. She expressed remorse for her past actions and provided evidence of her efforts to mitigate these concerns, such as completing a Drug and Alcohol Awareness Class and submitting a signed statement of intent to abstain from drug use in the future. However, the administrative judge found that while the applicant had successfully mitigated the concerns related to drug involvement, she had not sufficiently addressed the issues surrounding her personal conduct, particularly the deliberate falsification of information on her security clearance application.
Ultimately, the administrative judge ruled to deny the applicant's eligibility for a security clearance, citing the seriousness of her admissions regarding dishonesty and the potential implications for national security. The judge emphasized that the applicant's failure to disclose her drug use, despite being aware of the requirement to do so, raised significant concerns about her reliability and trustworthiness.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline EPersonal Conduct · Against Applicant
- Guideline HDrug Involvement & Substance Misuse · For Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 22-01907

deniedApr 8, 2024· Hon. Robert Robinson Gales· hearing

Summary

A 26-year-old defense contractor was denied a security clearance due to concerns under Guideline E (Personal Conduct) and Guideline H (Drug Involvement). The applicant admitted to all factual allegations regarding her past drug involvement and substance misuse.

However, the primary reason for denial stemmed from her deliberate omission and falsification of information about her drug use on her SF-86 security clearance application. This act of dishonesty raised significant concerns about her reliability and trustworthiness, triggering disqualifying conditions under Guideline E.

While the applicant successfully mitigated the drug-related issues themselves, her admission to falsifying material facts on a federal form ultimately led to the denial of her security clearance eligibility.

Why the Applicant Prevailed

The applicant successfully mitigated concerns related to drug involvement and substance misuse by demonstrating a pattern of abstinence and completing a drug awareness class.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 16(a)appliedDeliberate Omission, Concealment, or Falsification of Relevant Facts
AG ¶ 16(b)appliedDeliberately Providing False or Misleading Information
AG ¶ 16(e)appliedPersonal Conduct Creating Vulnerability to Exploitation

Mitigating

AG ¶ 26(a)appliedBehavior Happened Long Ago or Infrequently
AG ¶ 26(b)appliedAcknowledgment of Drug Involvement and Actions Taken to Overcome It

Key Rule Quoted

“"No one has a ‘right’ to a security clearance."”
— Department of the Navy v. Egan, 484 U.S. 518, 528 (1988)

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedJan 12, 2023
Answer filedFeb 15, 2023
Hearing heldFeb 7, 2024via Microsoft Teams
Decision dateApr 8, 2024

Cite For

Issues of Personal Conduct and Dishonesty in Security Clearance Applications
Successful Mitigation of Drug Involvement Under Guideline H
The Impact of Falsifying Information on Security Clearance Eligibility

Editorial summary generated for research. Not legal advice; not a prediction. Verify against the full decision before relying on any quoted language.

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline E (Personal Conduct) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found against the applicant on the allegation of falsifying information regarding drug use in her SF 86. The applicant admitted to the drug use allegations and expressed remorse, but the judge concluded that the conduct raised security concerns that were not mitigated.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Conduct	Concealed Issue	Response	Disqualifying (¶16)	Mitigating applied (¶17)	Mitigation
2.a	specific text not stated in this decision	For Applicant	Unspecified Personal Conduct	—	Unknown	—	—	—
2.b	Applicant deliberately omitted and falsified information regarding her drug use in her SF 86.	Against Applicant	Falsification Security FormFOUND DELIBERATE	Drug Involvement	Admitted	(a) deliberate omission, concealment, or falsification on a security form	—	Claimed Acknowledgment and Remorse

Descriptive standardized rendering of a decided public case (Guideline E). The verbatim source decision is shown in full below.

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline H (Drug Involvement) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant admitted to all allegations of drug involvement and substance misuse, including the use of marijuana, LSD, and cocaine. Despite the applicant's claims of remorse and efforts to abstain from drug use, the overall conduct was deemed inconsistent with the national security interests, leading to a denial of the security clearance.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant admitted all the factual allegations pertaining to drug involvement and substance misuse.	For Applicant	Unspecified Drug InvolvementWHILE CLEARED	Unspecified	Admitted	—	—	Claimed Acknowledgment and Remorse Documented Substance Treatment Completed

Descriptive standardized rendering of a decided public case (Guideline H). The verbatim source decision is shown in full below.

Full decision

The complete, official text — footnotes and signatures included — is in the original PDF.