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ISCR Case 15-08316.h1 — CASE

ISCR Case 15-08316.h1granted

Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 15-08316.h1

grantedOct 10, 2017· Hon. Candace Le'i Garcia· hearing

Summary

A 70-year-old U.S. citizen and facility security officer was granted a security clearance despite concerns under Guideline B (Foreign Influence). The Statement of Reasons focused on her husband's past political activities in Guinea. Specifically, it was alleged that in 2010, her husband ran for president of Guinea as a candidate for the New Generation for the Republic party, which he lost. It was also alleged that he was a founder or head of this party, or had served as an adviser to the president of Guinea, and that the couple had family in Guinea.

However, the judge found that the husband had not run for any political office in Guinea since 2010 and had no future intentions to do so. He was not a founder or head of the political party and had not been involved with it or any other Guinean political party since 2010. Furthermore, he never served as an adviser to the president of Guinea, and neither the applicant nor her husband have any family in Guinea.

The judge concluded that the favorable evidence outweighed any unfavorable evidence, determining that the applicant's ties to Guinea did not raise doubts about her reliability or trustworthiness. Consequently, her security clearance was granted.

Why the Applicant Prevailed

The applicant's husband has not been involved in Guinean politics since 2010 and has no future intentions to do so.
Neither the applicant nor her husband has family in Guinea, reducing foreign influence concerns.
The judge concluded that the favorable evidence outweighed any unfavorable evidence regarding the applicant's ties to Guinea.

Key Rule Quoted

“I also gave due consideration to the whole-person concept.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedOct 3, 2016
Answer filedNov 1, 2016
Hearing heldJul 20, 2017
Decision dateOct 10, 2017Proposed summary disposition in favor of applicant on October 6, 2017.

Cite For

Foreign Influence Concerns Under Guideline B
Whole-person Concept in Security Clearance Determinations
Impact of Spouse's Political History 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 B (Foreign Influence) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: Decision on RecordDecided: granted

The judge found that the applicant's ties to Guinea, primarily through her husband's past political involvement, did not raise concerns about her reliability or trustworthiness. The applicant's strong ties to the United States and her husband's lack of current political involvement in Guinea contributed to the decision to grant her security clearance.

U.S. ties the decision noted: Naturalized U.S. Citizen · U.S. Spouse or Partner · U.S. Children · U.S. Home or Property · U.S. Career or Business

¶	Allegation	Finding	Relationship	Country	Response	Disqualifying (¶7)	Mitigating applied (¶8)	Mitigation
1.a	In 2010, Applicant’s husband ran for president of the Republic of Guinea (Guinea) and lost. He has not since run for any political office in Guinea and has no future intentions of doing so.	For Applicant	Spouse Dual or Foreign Citizen Immediate Family	Guinea	Denied	—	—	—
1.b	He was not a founder and has never been the head of the political party New Generation for the Republic in Guinea.	For Applicant	Spouse Dual or Foreign Citizen Immediate Family	Guinea	Denied	—	—	—
1.c	He was approached by its members to run as the party’s candidate for president in the 2010 presidential elections, which he did.	For Applicant	Spouse Dual or Foreign Citizen Immediate Family	Guinea	Denied	—	—	—
1.d	He has not since been involved with this or any other political party in Guinea.	For Applicant	Spouse Dual or Foreign Citizen Immediate Family	Guinea	Denied	—	—	—
1.e	He also never served as an adviser to the president of Guinea.	For Applicant	Spouse Dual or Foreign Citizen Immediate Family	Guinea	Denied	—	—	—
1.f	Neither Applicant nor her husband have any family in Guinea.	For Applicant	Unspecified Foreign Relationship Other	Guinea	Denied	—	—	—

Descriptive standardized rendering of a decided public case (Guideline B). 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. 15-08316 ) Applicant for Security Clearance )

For Government: Rhett E. Petcher, Esq., Department Counsel For Applicant: William Savarino, Esq.

10/10/2017 ______________

DECISION

______________

GARCIA, Candace Le’i, Administrative Judge:

On October 3, 2016, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a Statement of Reasons to Applicant detailing security concerns under Guideline B, foreign influence.1 Applicant responded to the SOR on November 1, 2016, and requested a hearing before an administrative judge. The case was assigned to me on June 2, 2017. The hearing was held as scheduled on July 20, 2017. On October 6, 2017, I proposed to the parties that this case was appropriate for a summary disposition in Applicant’s favor. Department Counsel did not object.

Applicant is a 70-year-old, native-born U.S. citizen who has worked as a facility security officer for a defense contractor since 1997. She became the company’s president in 2010. She has been married to her husband since 1987. He was born in Cote d’Ivoire and is a naturalized U.S. citizen and resident. She has two adult stepchildren, both of whom are U.S. citizens and residents. In 2010, Applicant’s husband ran for president of the Republic of Guinea (Guinea) and lost. He has not since run for any political office in Guinea and has no future intentions of doing so. He was not a founder and has never been the head of the political party New Generation for the Republic in Guinea. He was approached by its members to run as the party’s candidate for president in the 2010 presidential elections, which he did. He has not since been involved with this or any other political party in Guinea. He also never served as an adviser to the president of Guinea. Neither Applicant nor her husband have any family in Guinea.

I considered the totality of Applicant’s ties to Guinea. AG ¶¶ 7(a) through 7(h) have not been raised by the evidence. The concerns over Applicant’s ties to Guinea, through her husband’s past involvement in Guinean politics, do not create doubt about her current reliability, trustworthiness, good judgment, and ability to protect classified information. In reaching this conclusion, I weighed the evidence as a whole and considered if the favorable evidence outweighed the unfavorable evidence. I also gave due consideration to the whole-person concept. Accordingly, I conclude that she met her ultimate burden of persuasion to show that it is clearly consistent with the national interest to grant her eligibility for access to classified information. This case is decided for Applicant.

________________________ Candace Le’i Garcia Administrative Judge

FOOTNOTES

1 This case is adjudicated under Executive Order (EO) 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 adjudicative guidelines, which became effective on June 8, 2017.