This article is the final installment of a three-part series on the craziest ways to lose your security clearance. All case details have been taken directly from publicly-available Department of Defense decisions. The attorney has not represented any of the referenced applicants.
One of the hallmarks of any good defense attorney is the ability to remain non-judgmental. I pride myself on that, as do my colleagues. A great many of our clients are good people who happened to make a mistake or fall on hard times.
But some attorneys confuse being non-judgmental with having no sense of humor. I believe that a sense of humor is critical for success in the legal world; without it, constant adversarial experiences will turn any attorney into a combative, angry person.
I frequently joke with my clients and try to help them keep perspective on their situation. In that spirit, here is a reminder that – no matter how bad your cleared career prospects appear – there is always someone with more serious issues.
The Case of the Special Delivery – ISCR Case No. 08-04308
For our final installment in this series, I’ve saved what is – without a doubt – one of the most priceless examples of poor judgment I’ve encountered in a while. The saga begins in 2007, when the Applicant claims not to have known he was arrested for illegal alien smuggling just six years prior. He fails to list the arrest on his SF-86 form – an omission which is, of course, promptly discovered.
The Applicant’s purported lack of knowledge about the arrest stemmed from the fact that U.S. Border Patrol Agents merely placed him in a room (read: jail cell?) for a long period of time, fingerprinted him, and then released him after he signed some papers that he did not read before signing – or apparently afterword, either. The fact that Applicant did not recall being given a Miranda warning rendered all of the above moot in his eyes.
“Arrest? What arrest?”
All of this, of course, was after Applicant returned to the U.S. from visiting a “border country”, which the judge cagily declines to name. The Applicant was purportedly approached by someone he didn’t know there, offered $300 to drive this complete stranger’s car across the border, and was either dense enough to do it without asking questions or thought he was slick enough to pull a fast one on the Border Patrol. If you’ve ever seen “Border Wars” you know that’s probably not a good idea.
The rest of this story writes itself. Applicant drove the car to the U.S. port of entry, where he was ordered by a border agent to open the trunk of the vehicle. Applicant acquiesced and – surprise! – illegal aliens (yes, plural) magically materialize! The agent “grabbed the aliens from the trunk” and escorted Applicant out of the vehicle and into custody.
Fortunately for the Applicant, it was just illegal aliens and not cocaine; he somehow managed to skate on the smuggling charge. Yet, for reasons I can’t possibly imagine, the judge didn’t think this individual was a good candidate for a security clearance.
You can read the actual case decision here.
Nothing herein is to be construed as legal advice. Consult an attorney regarding your specific situation.
