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ISCR Case 23-01847 — CASE

ISCR Case 23-01847denied

Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 23-01847

deniedAug 29, 2024· Hon. Charles C. Hale· hearing

Summary

A 31-year-old former U.S. Army service member was denied a security clearance due to concerns under Guideline E (Personal Conduct) and Guideline H (Drug Involvement). The applicant admitted to using marijuana in December 2020 and subsequently failing a urinalysis in January 2021.

Further, the applicant falsified material facts on a security clearance application dated August 2, 2022. This included misrepresenting information about his illegal drug use and disciplinary actions he faced under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

The administrative judge determined that the applicant's dishonesty and admitted drug involvement were significant security concerns. While some mitigating conditions were considered, they were deemed insufficient to overcome the seriousness of the applicant's conduct, leading to the denial of his eligibility for access to classified information.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant admitted to using marijuana and failing a urinalysis.
The applicant falsified information on his security clearance application regarding drug use and military disciplinary actions.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 16(a)appliedDeliberate Omission, Concealment, or Falsification of Relevant Facts
AG ¶ 25(a)appliedAny Substance Misuse
AG ¶ 25(b)appliedTesting Positive for an Illegal Drug
AG ¶ 25(c)appliedIllegal Possession of a Controlled Substance

Mitigating

AG ¶ 26(a)appliedBehavior Happened so Long Ago, Was so Infrequent, or Happened Under Such Circumstances That It Is Unlikely to Recur
AG ¶ 26(b)rejectedAcknowledgment of Drug Involvement and Evidence of Actions Taken to Overcome the ProblemThe applicant's admissions were not sufficient to demonstrate a pattern of abstinence or rehabilitation.

Key Rule Quoted

“[N]o one has a ‘right’ to a security clearance.”
— Department of the Navy v. Egan, 484 U.S. 518, 528 (1988)

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedDec 11, 2023
Answer filedJan 4, 2024
Hearing held—Decision made on the written record without a hearing.
Decision dateAug 29, 2024

Cite For

Denial of Security Clearance Due to Drug Involvement Under Guideline H
Serious Implications of Falsifying Information on Security Clearance Applications Under Guideline E
Insufficient Mitigation of Security Concerns Despite Acknowledgment of Past Drug Use

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: Decision on RecordDecided: denied

The judge found against the applicant on allegations of falsifying material facts on a security clearance application regarding illegal drug use and disciplinary action. The applicant admitted to the falsifications but did not mitigate the concerns raised by his conduct under Guideline E.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Conduct	Concealed Issue	Response	Disqualifying (¶16)	Mitigating applied (¶17)	Mitigation
2.a	Falsified material facts on an SCA dated August 2, 2022, pertaining to illegal drug use.	Against Applicant	Falsification Security FormFOUND DELIBERATE	Drug Involvement	Admitted	—	—	—
2.b	Falsified material facts on an SCA regarding disciplinary action under the UCMJ.	Against Applicant	Falsification Security FormFOUND DELIBERATE	Other	Admitted	—	—	—

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: Decision on RecordDecided: denied

The applicant admitted to using marijuana in December 2020 and subsequently failed a urinalysis in January 2021. The judge found the applicant's conduct under Guideline H to be mitigated, resulting in a formal finding for the applicant on this allegation, despite the overall case being denied due to other concerns under Guideline E.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
1.a	Used marijuana in December 2020 and failed a urinalysis in January 2021.	For Applicant	Marijuana	Occasional	Admitted	—	(a) behavior happened long ago / infrequent / unlikely to recur	—

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.

Decision text, by section

DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS

HEARING

APPEARANCES

______________ ______________ DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS In the matter of: ) ) ) ISCR Case No. 23-01847 ) Applicant for Security Clearance ) Appearances For Government: Adrienne M. Driskill, Esq., Department Counsel For Applicant: Pro se 08/29/2024

STATEMENT OF CASE

HALE, Charles C., Administrative Judge: This case involves security concerns raised under Guidelines H (Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse) and E (Personal Conduct). Eligibility for access to classified information is denied. Statement of the Case Applicant submitted a security clearance application (SCA) on August 2, 2022. On December 11, 2023, the Department of Defense (DoD) sent him a Statement of Reasons (SOR) alleging security concerns under Guidelines H and E. The DoD acted under Executive Order (Exec. Or.) 10865, Safeguarding Classified Information within Industry (February 20, 1960), as amended; DoD Directive 5220.6, Defense Industrial Personnel Security Clearance Review Program (January 2, 1992), as amended (Directive); and the Security Executive Agent Directive 4, National Security Adjudicative Guidelines (AG) (December 10, 2016). Applicant submitted his Answer to the SOR on January 4, 2024, and requested a decision on the written record without a hearing. Department Counsel submitted the Government’s written file of relevant material (FORM) on March 8, 2024. On March 12,

2024, a complete copy of the file of relevant material (FORM) was sent to Applicant, who was given an opportunity to file objections and submit material to refute, extenuate, or mitigate the Government’s evidence. He acknowledged receipt of the FORM on April 30, 2024, and did not provide a response. The case was assigned to me on August 6, 2024. The SOR and the Answer are the pleadings in the case. FORM Items 3 through 6 are admitted into evidence without objection.

FINDINGS OF FACT

In Applicant’s Answer to the SOR, he admitted using marijuana and failing a urinalysis. SOR ¶ 1.a. He admitted falsifying his answers on his SCA. SOR ¶¶ 2.a-2.b. His admissions are incorporated in my findings of fact. After a thorough and careful review of the pleadings and exhibits submitted, I make the following additional findings of fact. Applicant is 31 years old. He served honorably in the U.S. Army from January 2013 to December 2021. He is a high school graduate. He has never held a security clearance. He married in 2018. (Item 3 at 9, 12, 15, and 24.) SOR ¶ 1.a: You used marijuana in December 2020 and failed a urinalysis in January 2021. Applicant admitted in his Answer that he had used marijuana on at least one occasion during a New Year’s Eve party in December 2020 and tested positive on a urinalysis shortly afterwards. The urinalysis was taken after his unit returned from the New Year’s holiday in January 2021. (Item 3; Item 4 at 5-9; Item 5 at 2; Item 6 at 2-3.) SOR ¶ 2.a: Falsified material facts on an SCA dated August 2, 2022, pertaining to “Section 23-Illegal Use of Drugs or Drug Activity” when you stated “No” to whether you had illegally used drugs or controlled substances in the last seven years. Applicant admitted in his Answer that he failed to disclose on his SCA that he had illegally used marijuana. He told the investigator he failed to disclose the drug use on his SCA “due to feeling it would negatively impact his application for the position that requires the security clearance.” He admitted he had used marijuana on one occasion during a New Year’s Eve party in December 2020. (Item 4 at 4-5; Item 5 at 5.) SOR ¶ 2.b: Falsified material facts on an SCA dated August 2, 2022, for his Military History that in last 7 years, have you been subject to court martial or other disciplinary procedure under the Uniform Code of Military Act (UCMJ), such as Article 15, Captain’s Mast, Article 135 Court of Inquiry, etc.?" You answered "No" and thereby deliberately failed to disclose that in May 2021 he received an Article 15 under the UCMJ. The SOR references the offense of Article 112A as an action under the UCMJ. Article 112A is the offense that it is the basis for the Article 15 and will only be considered as such. Applicant admitted in his Answer that he failed to disclose that he had received an Article 15 for illegally using marijuana in violation of Article 112A. He was confronted by the investigator and acknowledged receiving an Article 15 in May 2021. He was reduced one pay grade and received other punishments at the Article 15. Applicant told the investigator he failed to disclose the Article 15 on his SCA “due to feeling it would

negatively impact his application for the position that requires the security clearance.” (Item 4 at 4-5; Item 5 at 3.)

POLICIES

“[N]o one has a ‘right’ to a security clearance.” Department of the Navy v. Egan, 484 U.S. 518, 528 (1988). As Commander in Chief, the President has the authority to “control access to information bearing on national security and to determine whether an individual is sufficiently trustworthy to have access to such information.” Id. at 527. The President has authorized the Secretary of Defense or his designee to grant applicants eligibility for access to classified information “only upon a finding that it is clearly consistent with the national interest to do so.” Exec. Or. 10865 § 2. Eligibility for a security clearance is predicated upon the applicant meeting the criteria contained in the adjudicative guidelines. These guidelines are not inflexible rules of law. Instead, recognizing the complexities of human behavior, an administrative judge applies these guidelines in conjunction with an evaluation of the whole person. An administrative judge’s overarching adjudicative goal is a fair, impartial, and commonsense decision. An administrative judge must consider all available and reliable information about the person, past and present, favorable and unfavorable. The Government reposes a high degree of trust and confidence in persons with access to classified information. This relationship transcends normal duty hours and endures throughout off-duty hours. Decisions include, by necessity, consideration of the possible risk that the applicant may deliberately or inadvertently fail to safeguard classified information. Such decisions entail a certain degree of legally permissible extrapolation about potential, rather than actual, risk of compromise of classified information. Clearance decisions must be made “in terms of the national interest and shall in no sense be a determination as to the loyalty of the applicant concerned.” Exec. Or. 10865 § 7. Thus, a decision to deny a security clearance is merely an indication the applicant has not met the strict guidelines the President and the Secretary of Defense have established for issuing a clearance. Initially, the Government must establish, by substantial evidence, conditions in the personal or professional history of the applicant that may disqualify the applicant from being eligible for access to classified information. The Government has the burden of establishing controverted facts alleged in the SOR. See Egan, 484 U.S. at 531. “Substantial evidence” is “more than a scintilla but less than a preponderance.” See v. Washington Metro. Area Transit Auth., 36 F.3d 375, 380 (4th Cir. 1994). The guidelines presume a nexus or rational connection between proven conduct under any of the criteria listed therein and an applicant’s security suitability. See ISCR Case No. 15-01253 at 3 (App. Bd. Apr. 20, 2016). Once the Government establishes a disqualifying condition by substantial evidence, the burden shifts to the applicant to rebut, explain, extenuate, or mitigate the

facts. Directive ¶ E3.1.15. An applicant has the burden of proving a mitigating condition, and the burden of disproving it never shifts to the Government. See ISCR Case No. 02- 31154 at 5 (App. Bd. Sep. 22, 2005). An applicant “has the ultimate burden of demonstrating that it is clearly consistent with the national interest to grant or continue his security clearance.” ISCR Case No. 01- 20700 at 3 (App. Bd. Dec. 19, 2002). “[S]ecurity clearance determinations should err, if they must, on the side of denials.” Egan, 484 U.S. at 531.

ANALYSIS

Guideline H, Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse The concern under this guideline is set out in AG ¶ 24: The illegal use of controlled substances, to include the misuse of prescription and non-prescription drugs, and the use of other substances that cause physical or mental impairment or are used in a manner inconsistent with their intended purpose can raise questions about an individual’s reliability and trustworthiness, both because such behavior may lead to physical or psychological impairment and because it raises questions about a person’s ability or willingness to comply with laws, rules, and regulations. Controlled substance means any “controlled substance” as defined in 21 U.S.C. 802. Substance misuse is the generic term adopted in this guideline to describe any of the behaviors listed above. Applicant’s admissions in his SCA and Answer are sufficient to raise the following disqualifying conditions under AG ¶ 25: (a): any substance misuse (see above definition); (b) testing positive for an illegal drug; and (c): illegal possession of a controlled substance, including cultivation, processing, manufacture, purchase, sale, or distribution; or possession of drug paraphernalia. The following mitigating conditions under AG ¶ 26 are potentially applicable: (a) the behavior happened so long ago, was so infrequent, or happened under such circumstances that it is unlikely to recur or does not cast doubt on the individual's current reliability, trustworthiness, or good judgment; and

(b): the individual acknowledges his or her drug involvement and substance misuse, provides evidence of actions taken to overcome this problem, and has established a pattern of abstinence including, but not limited to: (1) disassociation from drug-using associates and contacts; (2) changing or avoiding the environment where drugs were used; and (3) providing a signed statement of intent to abstain from all drug involvement and substance misuse, acknowledging that any future involvement or misuse is grounds for revocation of national security. AG ¶¶ 26(a) and 26(b) are established. Applicant admitted using marijuana in December 2020. He has not had an incident since and was discharged honorably from the Army. His drug use is mitigated by time. Guideline E, Personal Conduct The security concern for personal conduct is set out in AG ¶ 15, as follows: Conduct involving questionable judgment, lack of candor, dishonesty, or unwillingness to comply with rules and regulations can raise questions about an individual's reliability, trustworthiness and ability to protect classified information. Of special interest is any failure to provide truthful and candid answers during the security clearance process or any other failure to cooperate with the security clearance process. Applicant's intentional failure to disclose his marijuana use in his SCA and the subsequent disciplinary action by the Army raise the following disqualifying conditions, under AG ¶ 16: (a): deliberate omission, concealment, or falsification of relevant facts from any personnel security questionnaire, personal history statement, or similar form used to conduct investigations, determine employment qualifications, award benefits or status, determine national security eligibility or trustworthiness, or award fiduciary responsibilities. The following mitigating conditions, under AG ¶ 17, are potentially relevant: (a): the individual made prompt, good-faith efforts to correct the omission, concealment, or falsification before being confronted with the facts; and (c): the offense is so minor, or so much time has passed, or the behavior is so infrequent, or it happened under such unique circumstances that it is unlikely to recur and does not cast doubt on the individual's reliability, trustworthiness, or good judgment.

AG ¶¶ 17(a) and 17(c) are not established for SOR ¶¶ 2.a and 2.b. Applicant admitted he deliberately and repeatedly lied on his SCA to obtain his position. The evidence reflects that he admitted his omissions to an investigator after being confronted during his PSI. Applicant's false statements concerning his drug use and the resulting disciplinary action are not “minor,” because such statements strike at the heart of the security clearance process. See ISCR Case No. 09-01652 (App. Bd. Aug. 8, 2011). An applicant who deliberately fails to give full, frank, and candid answers to the government in connection with a security clearance investigation or adjudication interferes with the integrity of the industrial security program. See ISCR Case No. 01-03132 at 3 (App. Bd. Aug. 8, 2002). Applicant's false statements were recent and calculated to give him the most favorable hiring profile for his application for a position requiring a security clearance.

WHOLE PERSON CONCEPT

Under AG ¶ 2(c), the ultimate determination of whether to grant eligibility for a security clearance must be an overall common sense judgment based upon careful consideration of the guidelines and the whole-person concept. In applying the whole- person concept, an administrative judge must evaluate an applicant’s eligibility for a security clearance by considering the totality of the applicant’s conduct and all relevant circumstances. An administrative judge should consider the nine adjudicative process factors listed at AG ¶ 2(d): (1) the nature, extent, and seriousness of the conduct; (2) the circumstances surrounding the conduct, to include knowledgeable participation; (3) the frequency and recency of the conduct; (4) the individual’s age and maturity at the time of the conduct; (5) the extent to which participation is voluntary; (6) the presence or absence of rehabilitation and other permanent behavioral changes; (7) the motivation for the conduct; (8) the potential for pressure, coercion, exploitation, or duress; and (9) the likelihood of continuation or recurrence. I have incorporated my comments under Guidelines H and E in my whole-person analysis and have applied the adjudicative factors in AG ¶ 2(d). Because Applicant requested a determination on the record without a hearing, I had no opportunity to evaluate his credibility and sincerity based on demeanor. See ISCR Case No. 01-12350 at 3-4 (App. Bd. Jul. 23, 2003). After weighing the disqualifying and mitigating conditions under Guidelines H and E, and evaluating all the evidence in the context of the whole person, I conclude Applicant has not mitigated the security concerns raised by his conduct under Guideline E.

FORMAL FINDINGS

I make the following formal findings on the allegations in the SOR:

Paragraph 1: Guideline H: FOR APPLICANT Subparagraph 1.a: For Applicant Paragraph 2: Guideline E: AGAINST APPLICANT Subparagraphs 2.a - 2.b: Against Applicant

CONCLUSION

I conclude that it is not clearly consistent with the national security interests of the United States to grant Applicant eligibility for access to classified information. Clearance is denied. Charles C. Hale Administrative Judge