I know. I’m sick of seeing pictures of the Astronomer CEO and his head of HR locked in a warm embrace at a Coldplay concert, too. But the incident offers too rich of a picture for why Sexual Behavior remains an adjudicative guideline, and why what you do behind closed doors (or in crowded arenas) matters to your professional life to not discuss. The memes and jokes aside, the embrace felt around the world spotlights an uncomfortable truth for anyone in national security: your private life is never entirely private. If you hold a security clearance, extramarital affairs aren’t just salacious; they could become a professional liability (and as we’ve seen this week that’s not just a risk in the cleared world).
The incident, reported publicly and widely discussed across the internet, didn’t stem from a criminal act or overt abuse of power. But it was a reminder that seemingly personal decisions, particularly those involving deception, broken trust, or vulnerable relationships, can have real-world consequences, especially when national security is involved.
Sex, Lies, and Adjudicative Guidelines
For those unfamiliar with the world of security clearances, it might seem surprising that an affair could put your career at risk. But it’s right there in black and white. Guideline D of the 13 adjudicative guidelines used to evaluate an individual’s trustworthiness for a security clearance is titled simply: Sexual Behavior.
Contrary to popular misconception, this guideline isn’t about judging morality. It’s about assessing risk. Affairs, particularly those involving deceit, vulnerability to coercion, or violations of workplace policy, can indicate poor judgment or make someone susceptible to blackmail. If someone is hiding a relationship from their spouse, what else might they hide? If they’re engaging in secretive behavior that creates leverage for others, could that leverage be exploited?
And that’s the key. The concern is less about the behavior itself and more about what it reveals and what risks it introduces. The concern isn’t infidelity—it’s vulnerability.
How Real Is the Risk?
Currently, public decisions from the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) show few—if any—cases where a clearance was revoked solely due to an affair. But that doesn’t mean the risk is imaginary. Many clearance issues are handled administratively, before they reach the stage of a formal decision. In practice, that means an individual may be counseled, reassigned, or asked to resign without the case ever entering public record or turning into a security incident. That makes tracking the true scope of fallout from personal misconduct nearly impossible.
In short, just because you don’t see it in the case law doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.
From the Bedroom to the Boardroom
What makes the Astronomer CEO case so illustrative is that it mirrors the same calculus clearance adjudicators use. The behavior wasn’t criminal. It wasn’t necessarily coercive. But it crossed ethical lines, created a power imbalance, and undermined confidence in leadership.
That’s exactly the kind of judgment call security clearance holders face. Clearance decisions weigh a “whole person” concept, considering conduct patterns and weighing the potential for rehabilitation or mitigation. But when poor decisions compound—especially if they reveal a pattern of dishonesty or ethical lapses—those judgments can turn into career-ending outcomes.
If you hold a clearance, your personal decisions matter—not because Big Brother wants to police your love life, but because trust is the bedrock of national security. When personal behavior calls your judgment or reliability into question, it opens the door to risk. Affairs that involve deception, compromise, or workplace conflict aren’t just HR problems—they’re security concerns.
So while not every affair will lead to a clearance revocation, every clearance holder should understand: the standard isn’t perfection, but it is trust. And trust, once broken, is hard to rebuild.
In the national security world, secrets matter. But the wrong secrets—especially the ones we keep from those closest to us—can be the most dangerous of all.
