Published: April 30, 2021
As official Washington begins to pull in the reigns with respect to security clearance in the post 9/11 world, agencies are making it clear about how they will approach situations dealing with issues of Foreign Influence and Preference in their security circles of trust. While the biggest Guideline triggers in proceedings prompted by Statement of Reasons and Notices of Intent to Revoke or Deny Eligibility for Access to Classified information are Guidelines H, G, and E—which revolve around drug, alcohol, and other substance use and misuse—Guideline B, Foreign Influence and Guideline C, Foreign Preference sit solidly as the second rank of guideline triggers. Even though the second rank may seem like a small focus for security adjudicators, over the past thirty-two months, around a tenth of all security clearance matters I have dealt with involved Guidelines B and C.
