Investigating Reasons for a Clearance Denial

The Washington Post recently reported about a man denied an interim Secret clearance at the Department of Defense, in connection to a new job for which he had applied.

The man was told he could submit a written Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to receive information on why he was denied. He speculated it was because he had recently placed a fraud alert on his credit report after his wallet was stolen.

[T]he [job] offer was contingent on Rose obtaining a federal interim security clearance and then a full security clearance…

Rose was denied the interim clearance. He doesn’t know why. He says there’s nothing in his background that would indicate a problem. To find out why he was denied, he has to submit a signed written request to the Defense Security Service’s Office of Freedom of Information and Privacy…. Rose suspects [the reason for the denial] has something to do with the recent fraud alerts he placed on his credit reports after his wallet was stolen.”

Filed Under: Procedures