Two declassified documents have confirmed what many of us have assumed was true for years: federal security clearance does indeed go “above top secret.”
One document also shows the United States Marshal’s office fast-tracked new hires into national security and public trust positions before a thorough background investigation was complete. A few of these hires were involved in “significant misconduct.”
The report lays out the extensive process of background investigations for those seeking to work in the United State’s Marshals Service.
More extensive methods should have been established following the September 11 terrorist attacks, when the Department of Homeland Security was created and virtually every federal security agency saw growing numbers in their ranks.
The role of US Marshal expanded during that time as well. To meet growing security threats of the 21st century, USMS created the tactical Operations Division.
Those working within this division respond to national emergencies and issues involving Homeland Security. The TOD greatly expanded the scope and power of the Marshals Service.
U.S. Marshal Service Expedited Background Checks
The USMS found itself in the position of having to exponentially increase manpower. To streamline the process, an executive order allowed agencies to hire an employee on a waiver, so they could start work right away while a background investigation was proceeding.
The extent of the background check depends on the level of clearance. Those with access to Secret and Confidential as well as Top Secret information are supposed to be subject to extensive personal interviews, record checks and background investigations.
But an investigation by the Department of Justice found there were some pretty serious problems with the USMS’s methods. The 2005 report shows the Marshals Service fast-tracked people into national security and public trust positions without complete investigative information.
Moreover, the Office of Personnel Management was neither timely or thorough in their independent investigations of USMS.
This, of course, begs one question: did the USMS, and other agencies for that matter, streamline and slack on background investigations as the service added scores of new divisions under the TOD umbrella?
The simple answer is yes, according to the report, which claims the USMS’ background investigation process was both incomplete and outdated. As of 2005, the service had 94 field offices, 4,000 employees and 12,000 contractors across the United States. How many of these people were given “Top Secret” clearance or higher based on shoddy, incomplete or outdated background investigations?
We may never know.
The Extent of the Problem
What we do know is this: of the 66 employees investigated in the report, 14 percent lacked the proper documentation, such as internal affairs checks and references from former employers – pretty basic stuff. Eight percent of contractors lacked the same information and their files showed there would not be any attempt made to obtain the missing information.
The report also details an investigation into 28 Marshals who were brought up on misconduct charges. Only three were not granted security approval.
It gets even worse. The Judicial Security Division issued security approvals to contractors based on incomplete information and a quarter of the files studied were missing required documents related to criminal histories. Again, there's no way to know exactly how high these individual clearances actually go.
The DOJ, naturally, compiled a large report packed with recommendations to ensure the USMS is doing a better job of conducting background checks on Marshals as well as contractors. It remains unknown how many of those recommendations were adopted and whether the service is being held accountable for lapses in procedure.
The other document relating to clearance levels "above Top Secret” was a Department of Defense report that outlines skill standards for those in the U.S. security community. This was largely procedural and detailed the importance of training for security personnel.
Ben Norris is a freelance writer and independent journalist from Phoenix, Arizona. He is an Arizona Press Club scholar, human rights advocate. BenjaminJames has 84 post(s) at Top Secret Writers
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