ISCR Case No. 15-08316.h1

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 ______________

______________

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

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.