“What’s in the water at Fort Meade?” It’s a question my colleagues and I occasionally find ourselves asking given the security clearances denied or revoked by the National Security Agency for sexual behavior.
Example Fort Meade Cases
For just a few of the more shocking examples, see Stahlans v. National Security Agency, 678 F.2d 482 (4th Cir. 1982) (applicant engaged in sex with his minor daughter); ISCR Case No. 97-0618 (DOHA App. Bd., June 11, 1998) (applicant was a convicted sex offender); and ISCR Case No. 02-12199 (DOHA App. Bd., April 3, 2006) (applicant admitted to looking at self-described child pornography).
While it’s true that all federal agencies can deny clearances for sexual behavior, NSA’s cases stand out from the norm for their severity. That may be because NSA runs one of the most adversarial polygraph-examination processes I’ve encountered anywhere in government. They aggressively press questions designed to elicit information about indiscreet, unusual, illegal, or otherwise blackmailable sexual behavior, and they do a very good job of extracting those sometimes cringe-worthy details.
That approach may help protect the agency against spies or other insider threats – which is obviously of paramount importance – and sexual history can certainly be fair game under the National Adjudicative Guidelines for Security Clearances. But it isn’t the norm for security officials to fixate so zealously on this area, even within the Intelligence Community. It also isn’t a perfect process.
In many respects, NSA’s security clearance process is akin to fishing with nets: they haul in a lot of proverbial turtles and dolphins with the catch. This means that plenty of people have clearances denied or revoked for things that are insufficiently contextualized, overblown, or falsely confessed when fight-or-flight mentality takes over. Applicants in these situations should challenge an unfavorable adjudication instead of just rolling over.
In fairness, though, some cases (like the ones cited above) come out of NSA that raise even my jaded eyebrows. Perhaps they keep pressing the sex questions because they keep yielding fruit – and quite distasteful varieties, at that.
NSA security clearance Lessons
There is a lesson to be gleaned from all of this for anyone contemplating applying for an NSA security clearance. What you do in the privacy of your bedroom is largely your business, provided it’s not illegal, indiscreet, evidence of poor judgment or blackmail potential, and, the other party isn’t a foreign national. But if your sexual interests skew toward the more risky, illegal, or objectively unusual end of the spectrum, be prepared for some very uncomfortable questions and the possibility that you’ll subsequently be hearing from criminal investigators. Accordingly, consider speaking with experienced legal counsel before even starting down that road.
This article is intended as general information only and should not be construed as legal advice. Although the information is believed to be accurate as of the publication date, no guarantee or warranty is offered or implied. Laws and government policies are subject to change, and the information provided herein may not provide a complete or current analysis of the topic or other pertinent considerations. Consult an attorney regarding your specific situation.
