Individuals who possess access to classified information have been entrusted to protect national secrets and are held to high standard of conduct, judgment, and trust. Occasionally, information may become available which calls into question the individual's ability to safeguard and protect the highly sensitive information that they access on a daily basis. It is absolutely imperative to be represented by a qualified attorney if you are subject to a security clearance hearing.
Statement of Reasons or Summary of Security Concerns
When this occurs, the individual is served with a Statement of Reasons or Summary of Security Concerns, which they must respond to forcefully in order to ensure their access is not revoked or denied. In certain cases, a written response is not sufficient to mitigate the identified security concerns or, depending on the federal agency involved, an individual may be forced to choose between either submitting a written response or requesting a hearing. When a hearing is necessary or is an option, the individual is faced with the decision of whether it is necessary to seek out skilled legal counsel or attempt to mitigate the identified security concerns on their own.
Hearings are adversarial in nature, and it is expected that government counsel will put forth a strong case as to why a respondent should not be entrusted with access to classified information. Depending upon the nature of the security concerns, expert witnesses may be called by the government to provide testimony as to why the individual should not be trusted with access to classified information. The testimony they provide is often highly damaging to the respondent, who is then forced into a difficulty position of attempting to counter the expert opinion sufficiently enough to mitigate the security concerns.
In addition to the possibility of facing an expert witness, the individual must be prepared to address the numerous factors that are taken into consideration by the Judge when determining whether access to classified information should be granted, denied, or revoked. The factors each have a bearing on the ultimate outcome of the case and each needs to be addressed in sufficient detail in order to give the respondent the best opportunity for a favorable outcome.
Seek Qualified Counsel
Defending yourself at a hearing is no small feat and is not something that is recommended, as one small misstep could be the difference between keeping your job or being forced to find new employment. This is why it is important to seek out qualified counsel who is knowledgeable about the complex adjudication process and factors that are under consideration when determining whether to grant, continue, or revoke access.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
