Wednesday, February 21, 2018

How Rob Porter Got His Security Clearance

Americans, more than the population of Costa Rica, Ireland, or New Zealand, hold a security clearance.

Of all those who are cleared, some three dozen White House staffers, including the recently resigned Rob Porter, have only "Interim." security clearances.

So how does an interim clearance differ from a full one? How do you get cleared? And how did accused spouse abuser Porter stay on the job even after his past came to light?

Cases like Rob Porter's expose the gap between the two, and the danger of using interim clearances as more than a temporary expedient for an oftentimes slow process.

Most everyone seeking a clearance begins at the same place: Standard Form 86., Questionnaire for National Security Positions.

In the case of the White House the FBI does not determine whether someone receives a clearance; it only conducts the investigation.

Those same officials understood that Porter's case would never pass the published standards for a full clearance, and hid their decision behind what appears to have been intended to be a forever interim clearance.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/how-rob-porter-got-his-security-clearance/ 

No comments: