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Some clearances based on faked screenings, review finds

  • By FCW Staff
  • Jun 22, 2011

Court records show at least 170 confirmed falsifications of interviews or record checks supposedly done for national security clearances for federal employees and contractors and more than 1,000 others that couldn’t be verified, Jim McElhatton reports in The Washington Times.

Meanwhile, agencies and contractors are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars investigating the investigators, the story based on the newspaper's review of court records also said.

Some background investigators who help determine who gets top-secret security clearances have been submitting forms saying they conducted interviews or verified official documents when they didn't do the work, the article said.

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Reader comments

Sun, Jul 17, 2011

They do contract out these investigations. In fact from talking to the person who did mine it sounds like nearly all are contracted out. This never concerned me until i started hearing consistent rumors that the major contractor in the seattle area where I work had managed to lose about a thousand completed background investigations from their office in seattle. I recalled that my last review was done by a contractor employed by USIS and i sure hope mine was not one of the ones they managed to lose.

Tue, Jun 28, 2011

Hard to believe this is very wide spread. Having a TS clearence myself I get investigated every 5 years and they talk to all my friend and all my neighbors as well as financial and leagel background. I've held a clearence for over 30 years so I know they give it due dillagents. You can always find one bad egg in the bunch.

Tue, Jun 28, 2011 DG

I was under approval for SCI and the Defense Department Investigator that interviewed me was pretty hostile and I was surprised by her demeanor. But, a week or so later I found out she was banging the other guy that was also under approval which I thought was a real sham since it was definately a real conflict of interest.

Tue, Jun 28, 2011

I'm sure the government doesn't contract this work out because it is very critical to get it right and they deem it "inherently governmental". Of course a contractor could actually be held to a standard while Federal employees just shrug their shoulders and are shuffled off to their next job within the Federal government.

Tue, Jun 28, 2011

considering what one has to go through to get one, I agree that CACs/HSPD-12 cards ought to be sufficient for airport security, but THEY WON'T EVEN ACCEPT THEM as ID!!!!That is just plain idiotic.

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