COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM

DARRELL ISSA, CHAIRMAN

SLIPPING THROUGH THE CRACKS: HOW THE D.C. NAVY YARD 

SHOOTING EXPOSES FLAWS IN THE FEDERAL SECURITY CLEARANCE 

PROCESS

STAFF REPORT 

COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

113TH CONGRESS

FEBRUARY 11, 2014
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Table of Contents

Table of Contents............................................................................................................................ 1

I. Executive Summary................................................................................................................ 2

II. Aaron Alexis: A Case Study for Reform ................................................................................ 4

A. 2004: Alexis’ Malicious Mischief Arrest......................................................................... 4

B. 2008 – 2011: Alexis’s Time in the Navy Reserve ........................................................... 5

C. 2013: The Newport Incident ............................................................................................ 7

D. Interactions with the VA .................................................................................................. 9

E. September 16, 2013: The Navy Yard Shooting ............................................................. 10

III. The Federal Security Clearance Process............................................................................... 12

A. Initiation of a Security Clearance Investigation............................................................. 13

B. Field Investigation and Quality Review of a Security Clearance Application .............. 15

i. Investigator Field Work ................................................................................................. 15

ii. Quality Review of Contractor Investigations............................................................. 24

iii. Final Quality Review by OPM FIS ............................................................................ 27

iv. Integrity Assurance..................................................................................................... 28

C. Adjudication by the Department of Defense.................................................................. 29

D. Periodic Reinvestigation ................................................................................................ 32

IV. Legislative Improvements: How to Patch Holes in the Process ........................................... 32

A. Continuous Evaluation ................................................................................................... 32

B. Use of the Internet and Social Media for Background Investigations ........................... 35

C. Communication between Adjudicators and Investigators.............................................. 38

D. Mental Health Evaluation............................................................................................... 39

E. Cooperation From State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies................................... 40

V. Allegations of Fabrication and Fraud ................................................................................... 43

VI. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 44
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I. Executive Summary

On September 16, 2013, Aaron Alexis walked into Building 197 of the Washington Navy 

Yard and murdered twelve people. Four more were injured. Alexis was granted access to the 

Navy Yard that morning because he worked for a small private company that held a subcontract 

with the Navy to update computer hardware at Navy facilities around the world. At the time, 

Alexis had worked for the company for a total of seven months. He was hired in large part 

because he held a Secret level security clearance. 

Before being killed by police during his murderous rampage, Alexis was one of roughly 

4.9 million Americans—over 1.5 percent of our country’s population—that hold security 

clearances, potentially granting them access to some of our nation’s most confidential secrets and 

most secure facilities. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the federal government’s 

clearinghouse for background investigations for security clearances for non-intelligence 

community personnel. When an agency wants to sponsor an individual for a security clearance, 

it relies primarily on OPM to conduct the background check on the individual. OPM then 

transmits its findings to the agency, which adjudicates the individual’s clearance.

In FY 2012, OPM prepared over 2.3 million investigative products for federal agencies. 

Approximately 30 percent of this work was conducted by OPM employees, with the other 70 

percent being outsourced to three companies who hold contracts with OPM. The Federal 

Investigative Services (FIS) branch of OPM, responsible for conducting these background 

investigations, has defined processes in place that are largely automated, which allows for faster 

investigations at the expense of thoroughness. Key information sometimes does not reach the 

agency adjudicators, which means that individuals—such as Aaron Alexis—are occasionally 

granted clearances that, had the adjudicator been aware of all the pertinent information, should 

have received more scrutiny and could have been denied.

Section II of this report discusses the story of how Aaron Alexis was able to receive, and 

maintain, his security clearance, despite a string of questionable conduct over several years. In 

2004, Alexis was arrested for malicious mischief in Seattle for shooting the tires out of a car, 

claiming that he had a “black-out” fueled by anger. Three years later, when Alexis applied for a 

security clearance, OPM did not include this information in the background investigative file that 

went to the Navy. The Navy ultimately granted Alexis his clearance. After receiving his 

clearance, Alexis continued to engage in behavior that should have raised red flags. He broke his 

foot jumping off stairs while intoxicated, he fired a gun into his ceiling and through the 

apartment above, he fired a bullet through the wall of his room, he quit his job, and he 

complained that individuals were using a microwave machine to send vibrations into his body. 

None of this information was ever given to an adjudicator who had the ability to pull Alexis’ 

Secret level clearance, which he maintained until September 16, 2013.

Section III of this report describes OPM’s tightly-controlled federal security clearance 

process, as well as some of the challenges this process faces. This part of the report discusses 

how a background investigation is initiated, the type of field work conducted during an 

investigation, and the fact that up to three or four people can work on a single background 

investigation yet never communicate with each other about the investigation. Before an 
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investigation is sent to the client agency for adjudication, OPM performs quality review over the 

file. Despite this quality review, however, GAO has found that 87 percent of OPM’s background 

investigation files are “incomplete.” That number is completely unacceptable.

The Committee on Oversight & Government Reform plans to consider legislation to 

improve problems identified in the security clearance process during this investigation. Section 

IV of the report discusses potential legislative fixes that the Committee is considering. The 

notion of a continuous evaluation is something that has been heavily discussed over the past 

decade, but has yet to become a reality. OPM must implement a continuous evaluation system to 

ensure that questionable conduct, such as Aaron Alexis’, will be reported to adjudicating 

authorities in near real-time. Congress should force OPM’s investigative practices into the 

twenty-first century by allowing investigators to use the internet and social media sources in 

particular for the first time. Legislation could also finally allow agency adjudicators to directly 

speak with OPM investigators, giving adjudicators additional information on an applicant when 

deciding whether or not to grant a clearance. Congress must take steps to address OPM’s need to 

capture information on the mental health of those holding security clearances. Finally, Congress 

should consider measures that will require local law enforcement offices across the country to 

cooperate with OPM investigators by providing specific information to security clearance 

investigators when they seek legal information on applicants. Though these offices are required 

under current federal law to cooperate with OPM, over 450 of these offices do not, and OPM has 

not taken the necessary steps to obtain better cooperation. 

Major security clearance reform was last pushed through Congress ten years ago with the 

passage of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevent Action of 2004. While the backlog of 

clearance investigations has dramatically subsided since then, recent technologies and the rise of 

social media now allow for these investigations to encompass even more information about 

applicants while still allowing the investigations to be completed in a timely manner. This 

ability to capture relevant, detailed information, and to do it in near real-time, however, is not 

being properly utilized by OPM. Updated legislation is necessary to ensure that this relevant 

information is sent to the proper authorities in a timely manner. 

No legislation or congressional action can repair the damage that Aaron Alexis inflicted 

on both the families of his victims as well as the Nation as a whole. Nonetheless, Congress has a 

responsibility to investigate the process that permitted Aaron Alexis to receive and maintain a 

security clearance, and Congress must take steps to improve that process to prevent dangerous 

people from gaining access to secure federal facilities and information. Congress, OPM, the 

Department of Defense (DOD) and other federal agencies must work together to tighten this 

process and ensure that fewer individuals like Aaron Alexis slip through the cracks in the future.
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II. Aaron Alexis: A Case Study for Reform

Just before 8:00 a.m. on September 16, 2013, Aaron Alexis arrived at the Washington 

Navy Yard.1 After parking his rented vehicle, he used a valid Common Access Card to enter 

Building 197.2 Though he carried a backpack, Alexis was indistinguishable from other 

contractors and federal employees reporting for work at the Navy Yard that Monday morning. In 

his backpack, however, Alexis had a Remington 870 shotgun that he had purchased just two days 

earlier. The condition of the shotgun—Alexis had sawed the stock and barrel of the shotgun to 

shorten its length3. Alexis also carved “Better off this way” and “My ELF weapon” into the 

stock,

4 which gave an indication of his mental state in the days preceding the shooting. 

At 8:16 a.m., less than 15 minutes after entering the building, Alexis began shooting.5 At 

9:25 a.m., law enforcement officers shot Alexis in the head, fatally wounding him.

6

 During the 

intervening 69 minutes, Alexis killed twelve people and wounded several others. 

In the following days, the world learned about Aaron Alexis and speculated about what 

prompted his horrible rampage. A particularly bewildering question emerged: how did Aaron 

Alexis obtain and maintain a security clearance which allowed him access to Building 197? 

After months of investigation by the Committee on Oversight & Government Reform the answer 

is clear, but unfortunate—the federal security clearance process in place at the time allowed 

Aaron Alexis to slip through the cracks.

A. 2004: Alexis’ Malicious Mischief Arrest 

Nearly a decade before the shooting at the Navy Yard, Aaron Alexis showed signs of 

dangerous instability. In 2004, Alexis was arrested in Seattle for “malicious mischief.” The 

initial police incident report described Alexis’ actions on May 6, 2004. It stated: 

[Witness] saw the suspect remove what appeared to be a gun from his 

waistband, chamber a round and shoot [Witness’] rear left tire. The 

suspect then walked to the right side of [Witness’] car and shot the right 

rear tire. The suspect returned to the left side of the car and shot one 

round into the air.7 

 

1

Staff Reports, What Happened Inside Building 197?, WASH. POST, Sept. 25, 2013, at 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/local/navy-yard-shooting/scene-at-building-197/ [hereinafter

Building 197 Staff Reports].

2

Id.

3 Ashley Halsey III, Clarence Williams, & Sari Horowitz, Officials Probing Whether Workplace Dispute Drove 

Navy Yard Shooting, WASH. POST, Sept. 20, 2013, http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/navy-yard-reopens-butscene-of-mass-shooting-remains-closed/2013/09/19/387ba03a-2120-11e3-a358-1144dee636dd_story.html. 

4

Sari Horowitz, Steve Vogel, & Michael Laris, Officials: Navy Yard Shooter Carved Odd Messages Into His Gun 

Before Carnage, WASH. POST, Sept. 18, 2013, http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/officials-navy-yard-shootercarved-odd-messages-into-his-gun-before-carnage/2013/09/18/edaae792-2065-11e3-8459-657e0c72fec8_story.html. 

5 Building 197 Staff Reports, supra note 1.

6

Id.

7

Seattle Police Department Incident Report and Related Documents (June 15, 2004), at 1-2 [hereinafter Seattle 

Police Report].
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In a subsequent interview, one of the witnesses told the Seattle police that Alexis had “stared at 

the construction workers every morning for about 30 days prior to the shooting.”8

On June 3, 2004, Alexis was arrested and confessed to shooting out the tires. Alexis told 

the police that he perceived one of the witnesses to have “disrespected him” and led to a “‘blackout’ fueled by anger.”9

 Alexis told police that he did not remember firing the gun until an hour 

later.10 Alexis was booked for malicious mischief.11

Alexis told the police that he had been in New York on September 11, 2001, and that the 

events had disturbed him. Alexis’ father further told the police that “his son had experienced 

anger management problems that the family believed associated with PTSD” and that “his son 

was an active participant in rescue attempts [on] September 11, 2001.”12

According to press reports, although the case was referred to the Seattle Municipal Court 

on June 15, 2004, for charges related to property damage (over $50) and unlawful discharge of a 

firearm,

13 Alexis was never prosecuted. Despite the reference in the arrest record to the referral, 

a court spokesperson for the Seattle Municipal Court said the court never received the case.

14

 

Spokespeople for both the Municipal Court and the Seattle City Attorney’s office said that the 

case should have been referred to the City Attorney’s Office, which handles misdemeanor 

charging decisions.15 The City Attorney’s Office, however, never received a referral for Alexis’ 

case.

16

 Accordingly, when Alexis appeared in court the next month, the charges were dropped.17 

B. 2008 – 2011: Alexis’s Time in the Navy Reserve 

Alexis enlisted in the Navy Reserve at the New York Military Entrance Processing 

Station in Brooklyn, New York, on May 5, 2007.18 Upon completion of Recruit Training in July 

 

8

Id. at 4. 

9

Id.

10Id. at 5.

11 Id.

12 Id. During its investigation, the Committee was unable to confirm if Alexis was in New York, New York on 

September 11, 2001, or what, if any, role he played in rescue attempts after the attack. On his SF-86, Alexis listed 

that he lived at an address in Brooklyn, New York, from January 10, 2001 to March 11, 2001, and in Seattle, 

Washington, from March 12, 2001, to August 31, 2005. However, Alexis claimed to work for a company in 

Brooklyn, New York from January 3, 2001, to February 4, 2004. He also claimed to attend the Borough of 

Manhattan Community College from February 5, 2001, to February 8, 2003. Form SF-86, completed by Aaron 

Alexis (Mar. 22, 2007). 

13 Id. at 3, 6.

14 Why Wasn’t Aaron Alexis Prosecuted for Previous Shooting Incidents?, CBS NEWS, Sept. 19, 2013, 

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-wasnt-aaron-alexis-prosecuted-for-previous-shooting-incidents/.

15 Id.

16 Id.

17 Id.

18 Memorandum from Juan M. Garcia, Asst. Sec’y of the Navy to Sec’y of the Navy, Review of Service Record and 

Performance of Former Sailor Aaron Alexis (Sept. 20, 2013) available at

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/09/24/us/24shooting-document1.html [hereinafter Navy Review of Service 

Record].
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2007 and Aviation Electrician’s Mate “A” School in December 2007, Alexis was assigned to the 

Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 46.19 In March 2008, despite his failure to disclose the 2004 

arrest and several outstanding debts amounting to several thousand dollars, the Navy granted 

Alexis a Secret level clearance. Upon granting the clearance, the Navy sent a single warning

letter to the squadron where Alexis was stationed concerning his negative credit history.20

After receiving his clearance, Alexis was cited at least eight times for misconduct over 

the three years he spent in the Navy Reserve. This misconduct ranged from a traffic ticket and 

showing up late for work, to an insubordination charge in 2008, a disorderly conduct charge in 

2009, and extended unauthorized absences from work several times between 2008 and 2010.21 

Alexis received several administrative punishments during his time in the Navy Reserve. 

On August 10, 2008, Alexis was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge in DeKalb County, 

Georgia.22 He spent two nights in jail after destroying furnishings in a nightclub.23 On 

September 23, 2008, Alexis’ commander imposed a non-judicial punishment for his 

unauthorized absence from work due to his time in jail. This punishment was later suspended, 

though a record of non-judicial punishment appeared in Alexis’ service record going forward.24 

In July 2009, Alexis broke his foot after allegedly jumping off stairs in a tavern while 

intoxicated. Alexis’ commander sought to impose a non-judicial punishment with a reduction in 

pay. Alexis appealed, and the punishment was suspended due to a lack of evidence that Alexis 

was intoxicated at the time of the incident. The report of non-judicial punishment was removed 

from Alexis’ record.25

On September 16, 2010, Alexis fired a gun into the ceiling of his apartment which 

proceeded through the apartment above. 26 The occupant of that apartment told police that she 

was “terrified” of Alexis and thought he had intentionally fired the round into her apartment.27 

Alexis had confronted her several days earlier, complaining that she was making too much 

 

19 Id. Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 46, based in Atlanta, Georgia when Alexis joined, moved to Fort Worth, 

Texas in 2009.

20 Letter from Dir., Dep’t of the Navy Central Adjudication Facility, to Aaron Alexis via Commanding Officer, Fleet 

Logistics Support Squadron 46 (Mar. 11, 2007). As discussed in Part III(C) of this report, warning letters relay 

concerns DOD adjudicators have about an applicant to the applicant and his or her commanding officer. See Part 

III(C) at 31-32.

21 Sari Horowitz, Craig Whitlock, & Jerry Markon, Navy Yard Gunman Had History of Mental Illness, Checkered 

Military Career, Officials Say, WASH. POST, Sept. 17, 2013, at http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/allegednavy-yard-gunman-had-checkered-military-career-officials-say/2013/09/17/a136ad0c-1fa1-11e3-8459-

657e0c72fec8_story.html. 

22 Uniform Traffic Citation, Summons, and Accusation for Aaron Alexis, DeKalb County, GA Police Department 

(Aug. 10, 2008).

23 Navy Review of Service Record, supra note 18, at 3; see also Timeline: The Life of Navy Yard Shooter Aaron 

Alexis, WASH. POST, Sept. 18, 2013, at http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/timeline-the-life-of-navy-yardshooter-aaron-alexis/2013/09/17/0915a9d8-1fab-11e3-94a2-6c66b668ea55_story.html. 

24 Navy Review of Service Record, supra note 18, at 3. Before the non-judicial punishment was suspended, Alexis 

was ordered to forfeit half of his monthly pay for two months, and he was reduced one pay grade.

25 Id.

26 Incident Report for Aaron Alexis, Fort Worth Police Department (Sept. 16, 2010).

27 Id.
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noise.28 When the police arrived to question Alexis about the shooting, he emerged only after 

firefighters arrived to force entry into his apartment. Alexis told the police that he had been 

cleaning his gun while cooking and that the gun accidentally discharged because his hands were 

greasy.29 Alexis was arrested for improperly discharging a firearm.30 According to the Tarrant 

County District Attorney’s office, however, there was insufficient evidence to pursue the case.31 

After this arrest, Alexis’ commander began the process to force him out of the Navy with 

a general discharge. An administrative separation document was prepared to send to Navy 

Personnel Command. Since Alexis was not ultimately charged with unlawfully discharging a 

firearm, the document was not signed, dated, or sent.32 Instead, on January 31, 2011, Alexis 

received an honorable discharge with a Reentry Code of RE-1, designating that he was eligible to 

re-enlist without restriction.

33

C. 2013: The Newport Incident

After his discharge from the Navy, Alexis lived with Oui Suthamtewakul, the owner of 

the Happy Bowl Thai restaurant in White Settlement, Texas, near Fort Worth. Alexis lived with 

Suthamtewakul and his wife, rent-free, and occasionally worked as an unpaid waiter at 

Suthamtewakul’s restaurant.34 In interviews after the Navy Yard shooting, Suthamtewakul said 

that Alexis “had a gun at all times,” and at one point fired a bullet through the wall of his room.35 

Alexis drank frequently and told Suthamtewakul he thought people were “coming to get him.”36 

Alexis lived with Suthamtewakul and his wife until July 2013, when Suthamtewakul filed a 

police report accusing Alexis of putting sugar in the gas tank of his vehicle.37 At that time, 

Alexis moved in with another friend and her husband.

In September 2012, Alexis began working for an IT consulting company called The 

Experts. As a precondition to Alexis starting work at The Experts, the company performed a 

background check of Alexis, a drug test, and confirmed his Secret level clearance through the 

Department of Defense.38 Alexis worked on a sub-contract The Experts held with Hewlett 

Packard, updating computers at various military facilities in the United States and Japan. In 

 

28 Id.

29 Id.

30 Id.

31 Deanna Boyd & Bill Miller, Friends Puzzled by Navy Yard Shooter’s Violence, STAR-TELEGRAM, Sept. 17, 2013, 

http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/09/16/5167160/fort-worth-man-accused-in-washington.html. 

32 Navy Review of Service Record, supra note 18, at 4.

33 Id.

34 Horowitz et al., supra note 21.

35 Id.

36 Rick Jervis & Carolyn Pesce, For Navy Yard Shooter, Buddhism was a Temporary Refuge, WASH. POST, Sept. 18, 

2013, http://www.faithstreet.com/onfaith/2013/09/18/for-navy-yard-shooter-buddhism-was-a-temporary-refuge. 

37 Erica Goode, Sarah Maslin Nir, & Manny Fernandez, Signs of Distress Multiplied on Killer’s Path to Navy Yard, 

N.Y. TIMES, Sept. 19, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/us/signs-of-trouble-on-navy-yard-gunmans-pathto-tragedy.html?_r=0. 

38 Letter from Counsel, The Experts, Inc., to Counsel, Naval Reactors (Oct. 11, 2013) at 1 [hereinafter Oct. 11 

Experts Letter].
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January 2013, Alexis abruptly left the company, citing a desire to go back to school, and 

complaining about traveling too much and not making enough money.39 

Alexis returned to the company in June 2013. The Experts again commissioned a 

background check, a drug test, and confirmed his Secret level clearance through the Department 

of Defense.40 Alexis continued work on the sub-contract with Hewlett Packard, continuing to 

update computers at various military facilities around the United States.

On August 4, 2013, Alexis traveled from a military facility in Norfolk, Virginia, to one in 

Newport, Rhode Island. Witnesses reported that, while at the Norfolk airport, Alexis became 

agitated, belligerent, and shouted obscenities until airport security officers finally calmed him 

down.

41

 Before his flight departed, Alexis called an employee of The Experts and told her that 

someone at the airport was trying to pick a fight with him.42 Alexis traveled to Newport without 

any other reported incidents. Several hours after checking into his hotel in Newport, however, 

Alexis called The Experts and asked to be moved to a different hotel, complaining of noise in 

other rooms.43 

On August 5 and 6, 2013, Alexis reported for work at Naval Station Newport. During the 

evening of August 6-7, 2013, however, Alexis called The Experts several times and continued to 

report that he was hearing noises. Logs from one of the hotels where Alexis stayed reported that 

he knocked on doors in an attempt to locate the source of the noises, waking and frightening 

guests.44 Alexis eventually contacted his supervisor at Hewlett Packard and went to her hotel, 

where he called the Newport Police Department.

45

 

Alexis told the police that three people were following him and keeping him awake “by 

talking to him and sending vibrations into his body.”46 Alexis reported that the voices followed 

him from hotel to hotel, and that the individuals were using “some sort of microwave machine” 

to penetrate his body.47 Alexis told the police that he was worried that the individuals were 

going to harm him, and stated that he did not have a history of mental illness in his family nor 

had he ever had a mental episode.48 The Newport Police advised Alexis to stay away from the 

individuals and notify the police if they made contact with him.49 The Newport Police did not 

arrest Alexis, as the reporting officers determined they had no cause to do so.50 

 

39 E-mail from Aaron Alexis to Program Manager, The Experts, Inc. (Dec. 28, 2012, 12:21 a.m.) (“I don’t think I 

will be making the Virginia project. I think it best I just go back to school and finish my degree. Not having enough 

money and trying to travel [to] different sites, on top of the inconsistency in pay is too much.”).

40 Oct. 11 Experts Letter at 1.

41 Goode et al., supra note 37.

42 Briefing by The Experts, Inc. to H. Comm. on Oversight & Gov’t Reform Staff (Dec. 19, 2013) [hereinafter Dec. 

19 Experts Briefing].

43 Id.

44 Goode et al, supra note 37.

45 Oct. 11 Experts Letter at 2.

46 Newport Police Department, Incident Report, Aug. 7, 2013. 

47 Id.

48 Id.

49 Id.

50 Horowitz et al., supra note 4.
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After these incidents, managers at The Experts told Alexis to take time off from work and 

sent him back to Fort Worth, Texas.

51

 The Experts temporarily removed Alexis from a list of 

employees who could enter Naval Station Newport.52 On multiple occasions, The Experts spoke 

with Alexis’ Hewlett Packard site manager, who likely had the most contact with Alexis between 

August 4 and 7. The manager, who also worked with Alexis in Japan during his first period of 

employment at The Experts, said that she was comfortable having Alexis come back to work the 

following week.53 The Experts also spoke with Alexis’ mother, who said that Alexis had a 

history of paranoid episodes and most likely needed therapy.54 Alexis returned to work the 

following week.55 

D. Interactions with the VA 

Alexis filed a disability compensation claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs 

shortly after being discharged from the Navy. On December 12, 2011, the VA granted Alexis a 

20 percent disability rating for “orthopedic issues.”56 On December 19, 2012, the VA increased 

this rating to 30 percent, and awarded an additional 10 percent for tinnitus.57 Alexis received a 

$395 monthly benefit for his disability.58

Alexis received treatment from the VA on two occasions. On August 23, 2013, two 

weeks after his episodes at the Newport, Rhode Island hotels, Alexis visited the emergency room 

at the VA Medical Center in Providence, Rhode Island, complaining of insomnia.59 Alexis told 

VA medical professionals that he had not been able to sleep for more than two or three hours for 

about three weeks.60 Including in the record from this visit is a note from the attending 

physician: “Denies drugs, cocaine, heroin, caffeine product, depression, anxiety, chest pain, sob 

[shortness of breath], nightmares. He denies taking nap during the day. Denies SI [suicidal 

ideation] or HI [homicidal ideation]. He works in the defense department, no problem there.”61 

VA medical professionals gave him a prescription for a small amount of Trazodone.

62

 

 

51 E-mail from Program Manager, The Experts, Inc. (Aug. 7, 2013, 12:02 a.m.) (“I’ve arranged for someone to cover

you at NWPT the rest of the week. I’m sending you home to get some rest and will call you in the morning.”).

52 Dec. 19 Experts Briefing.

53 Id.; see also Oct. 11 Experts Letter at 2.

54 Serge Kovaleski, Supervisors of Navy Yard Gunman Were Told of Issues, N.Y. TIMES, Oct. 4, 2013, 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/05/us/supervisors-of-navy-yard-gunman-were-told-of-issues.html. 

55 Oct. 11 Experts Letter at 2. In the following weeks, Alexis worked in Williamsburg and Stafford, Virginia the 

week of August 12, 2013; in Newport, Rhode Island the week of August 19, 2013; in Carderock, Maryland the week 

of August 26, 2013; in Arlington, Virginia the week of September 2, 2013; and at the Washington Navy Yard the 

week of September 9, 2013. Alexis was scheduled to be at the Navy Yard the full week of September 16, 2013. Id.

56 E-mail from Cong. Relations Officer, U.S. Dep’t of Veterans Affairs, to Staff of House and Senate Veterans 

Affairs Comm. (Sept. 18, 2013, 3:06 p.m.). 

57 Id.

58 Id.

59 Id.

60 Aaron Alexis Medical Progress Notes (Aug. 23, 2013, 5:37 p.m.).

61 Id.

62 Id.
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On August 28, 2013, Alexis went to the emergency room at the VA Medical Center in 

Washington, D.C., again complaining of insomnia.63 On this occasion, Alexis said that he was 

waking up at 4:00 a.m. “like clockwork.”64 Alexis was given a refill of the same medication and 

was again told to follow up with a primary care physician.65 According to the VA, on both 

occasions Alexis was “alert and oriented.”66 On both emergency room visits Alexis denied 

struggling with anxiety or depression, and denied having thoughts about harming himself or 

others.67

E. September 16, 2013: The Navy Yard Shooting

Alexis began working in the Washington, D.C. metro area on August 26, 2013. He was 

scheduled to remain in the area for several weeks.68 Alexis’ daily performance evaluations 

varied from “Poor” to “Great,” but, if his managers noticed any unusual behavior, they did not 

report it.

69

 After the Navy Yard shooting, investigators found that Alexis left behind several 

documents potentially detailing his motivation for the attack. Alexis wrote that the government 

had been attacking him for the past three months using “extremely low frequency” 

electromagnetic waves.70 He wrote: “Ultra low frequency attack is what I’ve been subject to for 

the last three months . . . . And to be perfectly honest, that is what has driven me to this.”71 

He further wrote that he was prepared to die in the attack, and that he accepted death as 

the inevitable consequence of his actions.72 It is not clear whether Alexis sent these 

documents—a clear cry for help—to anyone. It is clear in hindsight that Alexis was severely 

disturbed and needed help. 

 

63 E-mail from Cong. Relations Officer, U.S. Dep’t of Veterans Affairs, to Staff of House and Senate Veterans 

Affairs Comm. (Sept. 18, 2013, 3:06 p.m.).

64 Aaron Alexis Medical Progress Notes (Aug. 28, 2013, 5:31 p.m.).

65 Id.

66 E-mail from Cong. Relations Officer, U.S. Dep’t of Veterans Affairs, to Staff of House and Senate Veterans 

Affairs Comm. (Sept. 18, 2013, 3:06 p.m.).

67 Id.

68 Oct. 11 Experts Letter at 4. Alexis was scheduled to be in Carderock, Maryland the week of August 26, 2013, 

Arlington, Virginia the week of September 2, 2013, and at the Washington Navy Yard the weeks of September 9 

and 16, 2013. Id.

69 Alexis’ HP supervisors evaluated him on a daily basis. These evaluations, known as “Track Reports,” were sent 

to The Experts regularly. During the week of August 12-16, Alexis received “Average” and “Good” evaluations, 

with some comments that he needs more training, and other comments that he appears to be proficient. During the 

week of August 19-23, Alexis received evaluations of “Poor” and “Average”, with comments that he “needs to be 

more discrete in front of the customers, “makes a lot of excuses,” “doesn’t follow direction,” and “wastes a lot of 

time.” Alexis’ manager this week also noted that his technical ability is not very high and that he was working 

slowly. During the week of August 26-30, Alexis received evaluations of “Average” with one note that he worked 

slowly. During the week of September 3-6, Alexis received evaluations of “Great” with no additional comments. 

During the week of September, Alexis received evaluations of “Average” and “Great” with three additional 

comments indicating that he worked slowly. Aaron Alexis Track Reports (July 14, 2013, to Sept. 13, 2013). 

70 Michael Schmidt, Gunman Said Electronic Brain Attacks Drove Him To Violence, F.B.I. Says, N.Y. TIMES, Sept. 

25, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/26/us/shooter-believed-mind-was-under-attack-official-says.html. 

71 Id.

72 Id. 
Page | 11

On many occasions in the years leading up to the September 16, 2013 shooting, Aaron 

Alexis could have been stopped—either by a thorough investigation of his background prior to 

granting him a clearance, continuous evaluation of his competency for a security clearance while 

he was a Naval reservist, or reports of his behavior as a government contractor.

When Aaron Alexis first applied for a security clearance in 2007, he failed to disclose his 

arrest in Seattle on his SF-86, despite a requirement to do so.

73

 When the arrest was discovered 

in the course of Alexis’ background investigation, Alexis simply said that he “deflated” the tires 

on a vehicle.74 He did not mention the use of a deadly weapon. A police report from the Seattle 

Police Department detailing the incident—and countering Alexis’ claims—was never obtained 

during Alexis’ background investigation.75 As a result, the crucial information contained in the 

police report was never reviewed by the adjudicators who granted Alexis his clearance. 

Current law requires that holders of a Secret level clearance be re-investigated every ten 

years.76 No continuous re-evaluation is necessary. The individual holding the clearance is 

required to self-report misconduct within that ten-year span. There is no mechanism, however, 

other than the ten-year periodic re-investigation, to check whether or not an individual is actually 

reporting any misconduct. Even though Alexis’ commanders at the Navy were aware of his 

2008 and 2010 arrests, the Committee uncovered no evidence that Alexis reported this 

information to an adjudicative authority within the Navy, or that Alexis’ Navy commanders 

reported these arrests to such an authority. Had such a continuous re-evaluation requirement 

been in place while Alexis was a Navy Reservist, these arrests would have been noted in a 

system for potential re-review by a Department of Defense adjudicator.

No one reported Aaron Alexis’ questionable conduct in Newport, Rhode Island in August 

2013 to an adjudicative authority. The Experts and Hewlett Packard were aware of Alexis’ 

bizarre behavior, but neither company appears to have reported the information to an 

adjudicative authority. Even if one of the companies wanted to suspend Alexis’ security 

clearance for a period of time until his behavior normalized, they could not do so. That power 

rests alone with the adjudicating agency.

The police report stemming from Alexis’ Newport, Rhode Island conduct was sent to 

Naval Station Newport, where the military police said they would follow up.77 Shortly after the 

Navy Yard shooting, a spokesperson for Naval Station Newport declined to comment as to 

whether military police actually did follow up on the incident report.78 Regardless, this 

information on Alexis’ mental state did not get to Department adjudicators, who could have 

taken steps to suspend or terminate his security clearance.

Additionally, under a continuous re-evaluation system, Alexis’ two visits to VA 

emergency rooms in August 2013 could have been immediately flagged for Department 

 

73 Form SF-86, completed by Aaron Alexis (Mar. 22, 2007).

74 U.S. Office of Personnel Mgmt., Investigative Report on Aaron Alexis, closed Aug. 24, 2007, at 20.

75 This police report was easily obtained by Committee investigators—some nine years after the incident took 

place—after only two short phone calls.

76 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, Pub. L. No. 108-458, 118 Stat. 3706.

77 Horowitz et al., supra note 4.

78 Id.
Page | 12

adjudicators. These incidents were not reported to these authorities and, tragically, just a month 

later, Aaron Alexis killed twelve people.

III. The Federal Security Clearance Process

Over the past several months, the Committee on Oversight & Government Reform has 

investigated the process for granting, renewing, and monitoring security clearances. Committee 

staff met with representatives of all major stakeholders in the process, including the Office of 

Personnel Management (OPM), the three contractors performing field investigation services, 

adjudicators from the Department of Defense (DOD), and private and public companies that 

employ cleared individuals. All parties cooperated with the Committee’s investigation and 

provided candid observations on improving the process.

Congress last reformed the security clearance process in 2004, with passage of the 

Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA). Enacted in response to 

large delays in investigating and adjudicating clearances, IRTPA, in part, requires government 

agencies to complete 90 percent of their clearance determinations in an average of 60 days, with 

investigations completed in an average of 40 days, and adjudications in an average of 20 days.79

By all accounts, IRTPA has greatly improved the timeliness of security clearance investigations.

The security clearance process involves six phases: (1) the determination of whether a 

position requires access to classified information;80 (2) an applicant’s submission of required 

materials and submission by the agency of a request for a background investigation; (3) 

background investigation by OPM or an OPM contractor; (4) adjudication by the requesting 

agency; (5) an appeal, if a clearance is not granted;81 and (6) renewal after a federally-mandated 

period of time.82 

The Committee found that investigative processes and quality control policies and 

procedures were lacking in numerous areas. Had more thorough processes been in place at the 

time of the Alexis investigation, then adjudicators would have had a better picture of his 

activities before granting or denying him a security clearance.

 

79 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, Pub. L. No. 108-458. The 40 day investigative 

standard applies to secret clearance investigations. ODNI has established an 80-day investigative standard for top 

secret clearance investigations. Transcribed Interview of Merton Miller, Associate Director, Federal Investigative 

Services (Jan. 8, 2014) at 201 [hereinafter Miller Tr.].

80 The Committee’s investigation did not examine in detail whether certain positions require a security clearance, or 

whether the overall number of clearances should be reduced. The Committee supports ongoing efforts to better 

determine which positions require security clearances.

81 The Committee’s investigation did not examine in detail the appeals aspect of the security clearance investigation 

process. 

82 See, e.g., S. Comm. on Homeland Security &Gov’t Affairs, Subcomm. on Oversight of Gov’t Mgmt, the Fed. 

Workforce, and the Dist. Of Columbia, Hearing on Personnel Clearances, 110th Cong. (May 22, 2008) (Statement 

of Brenda Farrell) at 9.
Page | 13

Legislative action, however, cannot fix all aspects of this process. In 2012, 4.9 million 

Americans—over 1.5 percent of our country’s population—held security clearances. The 

Executive must study whether so many clearances are necessary, and find ways to better 

determine whether someone needs access to classified materials or spaces. The Executive should 

take steps to reduce the over-classification of information, which would reduce the number of 

clearances needed. Another possible solution is to create a system of temporary clearances that 

expire after a pre-determined amount of time. Ensuring that only those who need actually need 

security clearances receive clearances would go a long way to reducing the pressures on the 

investigation and adjudication processes. 

A. Initiation of a Security Clearance Investigation

Once an agency determines that a position requires access to classified information, the 

individual completes Standard Form (SF) 86, Questionnaire for National Security Positions, any 

necessary releases and certifications, and provides a copy of his or her fingerprints. In most 

cases, the agency submits a request for investigation to OPM, and pays for the investigation up 

front—before receiving the investigative product.

83

 Federal Investigative Services, a division of 

OPM, manages the process for the majority of all security clearance investigations. 

The applicant must complete the SF-86 accurately. Failure to provide full and accurate 

information may not only delay the investigation and adjudication of the case, but could also 

raise questions about the applicant’s suitability for a security clearance. Aside from delaying the 

investigation, however, there are few repercussions for applicants who intentionally falsify 

information on an SF-86.84 The relevant criminal statutes are rarely enforced.85 

Once the applicant sends all necessary information to OPM, OPM enters it into the 

Personnel Investigations Processing System (PIPS),

86 OPM’s primary fieldwork scheduling and 

management software. OPM then officially opens the investigation and begins scheduling all 

necessary work to field personnel. PIPS performs some scheduling automatically; USIS contract 

 

83 Proceeds paid by agencies for security clearances go into a revolving fund that funds the operations of Federal 

Investigative Services (FIS), the division of OPM that manages the security clearance process. Through this 

investigation, the Committee learned that the revolving fund has never been audited. Miller Tr. at 36. The 

Committee supports efforts to increase oversight of FIS’ revolving fund.

84 Miller Tr. at 85-86. During the course of this investigation, the Committee learned that in addition to applicants 

withholding information from the SF-86, it is not uncommon for recruiters or other federal employees completing 

the SF-86 on behalf of an applicant to omit or otherwise falsify information. OPM not only provides information to 

DOD on suspected falsification by recruiters, but also refers such information to OPM’s Office of the Inspector 

General. 

85 During its investigation, the Committee learned that it is rare for an applicant or recruiter to receive any sort of 

punishment for intentionally falsifying a SF-86. Federal law, however, provides that making a “materially false, 

fictitious, or fraudulent” statement to the U.S. government may be punished by a fine or a period of imprisonment. 

18 U.S.C. § 1001. The instructions for completing the SF-86 include this warning.

86 USIS employees working on a support services contract perform a quality review of documentation submitted by 

an applicant to make sure that all parts are complete. Miller Tr. at 43. The USIS support services contract is a 

separate contract from the fieldwork services contract.
Page | 14

employees working on the support services contract manually schedule other parts of the field 

work.

87

Some aspects of the investigation, such as automated agency checks, described below,

occur entirely online. OPM staff in the Investigations Support Group perform this work.

88

 

Merton Miller, Associate Director, Federal Investigative Services, testified about the way that 

relevant records are obtained via an automated system. He stated: 

There was a process we call consolidated leads. So when we could obtain 

a record in an automated way, reaching out to a statewide system or an 

agency system to actually obtain the information, we centralized that 

process. So if an investigation requires certain leads that can be done in 

an automated way we have folks that do the consolidated leads. They 

reach out, obtain it in an online fashion, update our record system, PIPS, 

with the results of that search, and it becomes part of the investigation.89

Field work is assigned internally at OPM or to contract investigators. Three companies 

hold contracts to perform investigative services on behalf of OPM—U.S. Investigations Services, 

LLC (USIS), CACI International Inc (CACI), and KeyPoint Government Solutions, Inc. 

(KeyPoint).90 When scheduling work among these four entities, OPM first ensures that its own 

field investigators, who make up approximately 30 percent of the total investigative workforce, 

are at capacity. OPM then assigns investigative field work to one of the three contractors based 

on a combination of price, quality, capacity, and timeliness. OPM determines the capacity of 

contractors by tracking the amount of work currently in progress.91 Contractors, however, 

described the process of assigning work as a “non-transparent formula” dictated by price.

92

 

Although Contractors are currently paid a set price for each investigation, not all 

investigations are the same. Some Top Secret investigations take substantially more time than 

others. Accordingly, one contractor recommended that OPM create tiers of prices based on the 

complexity of the case.93 Contractors also recommended that agencies improve their forecasting 

of required investigations to OPM, so that OPM can provide better forecasting to the 

contractors.94 OPM similarly expressed to the Committee that it is attempting to work with 

agencies in an effort to improve their forecasting.95 

 

87 Miller Tr. at 63-64.

88 Id. at 86-87.

89 Id. at 17.

90 The fieldwork contracts are indefinite delivery/indefinite-quantity firm fixed unit price contracts. Each contract 

has one base period and four option periods. The base period for each contract began on December 1, 2011. The 

total value of all three contracts over five years is $2.45 billion. 

91 Briefing by OPM FIS, to H. Comm. on Oversight & Gov’t Reform Staff (Oct. 7, 2013).

92 Contractor 1 Briefings to H. Comm. on Oversight & Gov’t Reform [hereinafter Contractor 1 Briefings]; 

Contractor 3 briefings to H. Comm. on Oversight & Gov’t Reform [hereinafter Contractor 3 Briefings].

93 Contractor 3 briefings. 

94 Contractor 1 briefings, Contractor 3 briefings.

95 Miller Tr. at 29-30.
Page | 15

Currently, either a contractor or OPM handles all field work for a single investigation.96 

It is not possible to break down an investigation and assign work to contractors or federal 

employees based on resources or location. As a result, on occasion OPM finds that contractors 

move personnel into a location because they need more capacity there while OPM moves its own 

investigators out of the same location because their capacity is needed elsewhere.97 According to 

Merton Miller, the ability to break down aspects of an individual investigation and have multiple 

contractors working on the same investigation would allow OPM to manage workflow and 

capacity more efficiently and to lower costs.98 While OPM’s current technology does not 

support division of investigations, OPM explained to Committee investigators that it hopes to 

gain this capacity through future technology upgrades. 

B. Field Investigation and Quality Review of a Security Clearance Application

i. Investigator Field Work

OPM and contract field investigators perform many tasks, from obtaining educational, 

legal, and employment records, to interviewing applicants and people who know them. Both 

OPM and contract investigators are trained to the same standards promulgated by OPM, and 

perform the same work. 

Within a single investigation multiple employees of one contractor or OPM are assigned 

to work on the investigation.99 For example, one employee might conduct a law check, another 

employee might conduct a credit check, and a third employee might conduct a subject interview. 

These employees, however, have little, if any, contact with one other during the course of the 

investigation.100 Case message notes regarding the investigation, which are later destroyed, may 

be shared over PIPS.101 The shared notes are the extent of the contact among the employees 

performing the investigation. Assigning discrete investigative tasks to employees who are 

isolated from one another increases the likelihood pieces of critical information could slip 

through the cracks.

During this investigation, Committee staff interviewed all field investigators who worked 

on the Alexis security clearance investigation, and had numerous meetings with OPM and 

contractors in order to learn the investigative process in greater detail. This section focuses on 

the current procedures for issues covered in the proposed legislation accompanying the report, as 

well as quality control procedures for both the contractors and OPM. 

 

96 Id. at 89-90.

97 Id.

98 Id. at 89-91.

99 Contractor 1 Briefings.

100 Interview of [Alexis Investigator 1] (Oct. 18, 213); Interview of [Alexis Investigator 2] (Oct. 22, 2013); Interview 

of [Alexis Investigator 3] (Oct. 25, 2013).

101 Id.
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a. Law Enforcement Checks

Field investigators perform a legal check on all applicants applying for a Secret or Top 

Secret security clearance. FBI fingerprint and name databases identify whether an applicant has 

been arrested in the United States.102 In addition, field investigators obtain information from 

local law enforcement jurisdictions where the applicant has lived, worked, or attended school for 

a determined amount of time, as well as known localities where the applicant has been arrested 

or convicted of a crime.103 If an applicant disclosed an arrest or conviction on the SF-86, or if 

investigators uncover an arrest or conviction during the course of the investigation, under current 

practices the investigator must verify certain information, including the disposition of the 

arrest.104 

Federal law requires local law enforcement and other law enforcement agencies to 

provide criminal history information to security clearance investigators.105 In relevant part, the 

law states:

Upon request by the head of a covered agency, criminal justice agencies 

shall make available criminal history record information regarding 

individuals under investigation by that covered agency for the purpose of 

determining eligibility for any of the following:

(A) Access to classified information.

(B) Assignment to or retention in sensitive national security duties.

(C) Acceptance or retention in the armed forces.

(D) Appointment, retention, or assignment to a position of public trust 

or critical or sensitive position while either employed by the 

Government or performing a Government contract.106

An OPM pamphlet explaining to law enforcement agencies how to cooperate with federal 

investigations describes the information an investigator will request:

The Investigator will want to know if the subject of the investigation has a 

criminal history record with your department. A criminal history record 

includes felonies, misdemeanors, traffic offenses or other violations of law 

that may or may not have resulted in a conviction. The Investigator will 

request pertinent information about each offense, including the date/place 

of the offense, statement of the actual charge, circumstances of the 

offense, and its disposition. In addition, the Investigator may ask for a 

copy of the police report. Please note that the alleged or suspected 

 

102 Miller Tr. at 101.

103 Id.

104 Id.

105 5 U.S.C. § 9101.

106 5 U.S.C. § 9101(b)(1).
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criminal activity is pertinent whether or not it led to an arrest or 

conviction.107

However, because the law does not specify what information must be provided, local law 

enforcement agencies may decide what criminal history information to provide despite these 

instructions from OPM.108 As a result, different localities provide different information in 

response to investigators performing the legal checks. 

Many local law enforcement agencies do not provide records to OPM investigators at all. 

As such, these agencies are not in compliance with federal law. In 2009, the Department of 

Justice, on behalf of OPM, successfully sued the State of California over its failure to disclose 

complete criminal history records to security clearance investigators.109 OPM maintains a list of 

local law enforcement jurisdictions that do not fully cooperate with security clearance 

investigators. That list currently includes more than 450 jurisdictions, ranging from small 

counties to entire states, and including numerous areas with large populations.110 

Internal OPM notes document reasons as to why specific law enforcement agencies do 

not cooperate, ranging from “does not cooperate in any way, shape or form” to “staff told agent 

it was ‘illegal’ for her to request records and threatened her with arrest if she returned.”111 Some 

jurisdictions require investigators to use court records to obtain information about criminal 

activity. This method is problematic because a court record may not exist if an individual was 

arrested but not charged,. In addition, court records will not necessarily include information 

about the factual basis for an arrest. Other jurisdictions require investigators to use databases not 

validated by OPM. 

Even statewide databases that OPM has approved provide only cursory information, 

including the date of offense, charge, and disposition. These databases do not include 

information about the underlying facts that lead to an arrest.112 Under current practice, 

investigators are considered to have successfully completed a lead when they determine the 

disposition of an arrest. Investigators do not appear to be under any obligation to obtain—and 

jurisdictions face no penalties for not providing—the specific information about the actions by 

the applicant that led to the arrest. As was the case with Aaron Alexis’ 2004 arrest for malicious 

mischief, there can be a large gap between the actions leading to the arrest and the ultimate 

disposition of a case. 

 

107 Law Enforcement & The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Federal Investigative Services (June 2013). 

108 See 5 U.S.C. § 9101(b)(1); see also Miller Tr. at 105 (“However, how they provide [the information] and the 

level of detail that they provide ... is not specified in the law.”).

109 U.S. v. The State of Cal., 2:06-cv-2649-GEB-GGH, 2007 U.S. Dist LEXIS 85845 (E.D. Cal. Nov. 7, 2007).

110 OPM Master List of Uncooperative Local Law Enforcement Agencies [OPM014538-OPM014547].

111 Id.

112 Miller Tr. at 110-111. Before permitting investigators to utilize a database to obtain criminal history records, 

OPM compares the reliability of the information in the database to physical collection of records obtained by OPM 

investigators and contractors. Several thousand comparisons are performed. When reliability is in the 98th or 99th 

percentile, OPM will permit use of the database as a source for obtaining criminal history information. Id.
Page | 18

Though Aaron Alexis did not disclose his 2004 malicious mischief arrest on his SF-86, 

both the FBI database check and a local law check uncovered the arrest.113 The investigator 

performing the local law check used the Washington Statewide Database to determine that the 

charges against Alexis had been dropped. Had the investigator taken additional steps to obtain 

the arrest record, it likely would have been provided to the investigator.114 As the investigator 

only had access to the information in the Washington Statewide Database, only minimal 

information was included in Alexis’ investigative file.115

The 2004 arrest record, however, contained substantially more information.116

 

113 Investigative Report on Aaron Alexis, at 17, 19, 30 (closed Aug. 24, 2007) [hereinafter Alexis Investigative 

Report]. 

114 H. Comm. on Oversight & Gov’t Reform, DC Navy Yard Shooting: Fixing the Security Clearance Process, 113th 

Cong. (Feb. 11, 2014) (Testimony of Hon. Patrick McFarland, Inspector Gen., U.S. Office of Personnel Mgmt.).

115 Alexis Investigative Report at 18. 

116 Seattle Police Record at 3, 4.
Page | 19

As discussed in more detail below, because an actual copy of the criminal record 

resulting from the 2004 arrest was not obtained, the investigator who interviewed Alexis only 

knew that he had been arrested in 2004, that the case had been dismissed, and that Alexis had not 

disclosed the arrest on his SF-86. The investigator had no knowledge of the cause of the arrest, 

or that Alexis’ father believed that his son may have post-traumatic stress disorder.

b. Mental Health Issues Presented During an Investigation

An applicant’s decision to seek mental health treatment should not, and does not, 

disqualify him or her from receiving a security clearance. This information, however, is

important in understanding the “whole person” concept, which is critical in informing the 

adjudicator’s determination of whether an individual should receive a security clearance. The 

current version of Question 21 on the SF-86 is as follows:117

 

117 Standard Form 86, OMB No. 3206 005 (Dec. 2010).
Page | 20

Under current processes, if an applicant answers “yes” to Question 21, then the applicant 

must sign a HIPAA release that permits an investigator to obtain certain types of information 

from the treating mental health professional. The mental health professional must answer 

whether the condition of the person under investigation “could impair his or her judgment, 

reliability, or ability to properly safeguard classified national security information.”118 If yes, the 

mental health professional must provide additional information about the treatment.119

If an applicant does not truthfully answer that he has consulted with a mental health 

professional, the information may still be uncovered during the course of the investigation. 

Miller testified:

 

118 Authorization for Release of Medical Information Pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and 

Accountability Act, Standard Form 86, OMB No. 3206 0005 (Dec. 2010).

119 Id.
Page | 21

Q. If an applicant currently says that, no, they have not consulted with 

a mental health professional, is there any way for an investigator to 

verify that? 

A. Maybe. And I'll say that because it depends on the kind of 

investigation you're conducting. If it's a secret investigation where 

most of the checks are automated, there is no interviews associated 

with it, the chances are, no, you would not uncover the mental 

health history, unless there was an arrest that you uncovered. 

If it's a SSBI where you have to provide references, you go talk to 

employers, coworkers, neighbors, there potentially is a chance that 

information would be uncovered that, oh, my neighbor told me he 

was seeing a mental health professional for whatever it might be. 

So there is potentially -- you know, you could uncover the fact that 

they were seeing a mental health professional when they didn't. 

But it's a good chance it will not be uncovered.120

Given the difficulty of uncovering such information, however, it is critically important that 

applicants answer truthfully about any required mental health treatment.

Despite OPM’s approval of the HIPAA waiver, some health care providers require 

applicants to complete a proprietary waiver, claiming that the HIPAA waiver is insufficient.121 

This requirement adds substantial extra time to an investigation, as the investigator must go to 

the health care professional with the first form, obtain the second form when the first form is 

deemed insufficient, return to the applicant to complete the form, and then return to the health 

care professional with the proprietary form completed. This lengthy process increases pressure 

on investigators to complete their work in a timely manner according to federal law. 

In April 2013, OPM requested comments on a potential revision to Question 21 for the 

purpose of “clarifying support for mental health treatment and encouraging pro-active 

management of mental health conditions to support wellness and recovery.”122 OPM requested 

the comments in connection with a comprehensive review conducted by the Director of 

National Intelligence along with DOD, OPM, and other agencies.123 The proposed change 

focuses more on the behavior of the individual, and less on whether or not the person has 

consulted with a mental health professional.

In the last seven (7) years, have you had a mental health condition 

that would cause an objective observer to have concern about your 

 

120 Miller Tr. at 154-155..

121 Briefing by the Department of Defense to H. Comm. on Oversight & Gov’t Reform Staff (Nov. 21, 2013) 

[hereinafter Nov. 21 DOD briefing].

122 Office of Personnel Management, Submission for Renewal: Information Collection; Questionnaire for National 

Security Positions, Standard Form 86 (SF 86), 78 Fed. Reg. 15755-56 (Mar. 12, 2013). 

123 Id. (emphasis in original).
Page | 22

judgment, reliability, or trustworthiness in relation to your work? 

Evidence of such a condition could include exhibiting behavior that was 

emotionally unstable, irresponsible, dysfunctional, violent, paranoid, or 

bizarre; receiving an opinion by a duly qualified mental health 

professional that you had a condition that might impair judgment, 

reliability, or trustworthiness; or failing to follow treatment advice related 

to a diagnosed emotional, mental, or personality condition (e.g., failure to 

take prescribed medication). These examples are merely illustrative. 

Merely consulting a mental health professional is not, standing alone, 

evidence of such a condition.124

OPM has adjudicated comments to the proposed change;125 however, no final changes have 

been made to Question 21 of the SF-86.

c. Personal Subject Interviews 

Not all types of security clearance investigations require a subject interview. While 

mandatory for Top Secret clearance investigations, a subject interview only takes place during a 

secret clearance investigation if an issue uncovered during the investigation requires it.

126

Alexis’ national agency check and law check (NACLC) investigation for a Secret 

clearance normally would not have included a subject interview.127 However, Alexis’ failure to 

 

124 Questionnaire for National Security Positions, OMB No. 3206-0005, DRAFT for 60 Day Notice, 

http://images.politico.com/global/2013/04/13/clearancedraftqnaire.html.

125 See Office of Personnel Management, Submission for Renewal: Information Collection; Questionnaire for 

National Security Positions, Standard Form 86 (SF 86) 78 Fed. Reg. 42983-86 (July 18, 2013).

126 Miller Tr. at 184-85.

127 OPM, Background Investigations, Federal Investigations Notices, Letter No. 97-02 (July 29, 1997), 

http://www.opm.gov/investigations/background-investigations/federal-investigations-notices/1997/fin97-02/.

Investigative standards recommended by the Security Policy Board and approved by President Clinton in 1997 set 

the following guidelines for the use of NACLC:

The NACLC will be used as the initial investigation for contractors at the Confidential, 

Secret, and L access levels. It will also be used as the reinvestigation product for both 

contractors and Federal employees at the same access levels.

This new product includes:

Basic National Agency Checks (Security/Suitability Investigations Index, Defense 

Clearance and Investigations Index, fingerprint classification, and a search of the Federal 

Bureau of Investigations [sic] investigative index).

Credit search covering all residence, employment, and education locations during the last 

7 years.

Law Checks covering all locations of residence, employment, and education during the 

last 5 years and to all locations of admitted arrest. If 35-day service is requested, all law 

checks will be scheduled by Record Search. If 75-day service is requested, law checks 
Page | 23

disclose his 2004 arrest, and his failure to disclose thousands of dollars in debts triggered the 

interview. At the time of Alexis’ interview, investigators only discussed the trigger issues.

128

 

Thus, Alexis’ interview only discussed his 2004 malicious mischief arrest and his financial 

debts. The interviewer was not allowed to cover any other topics.

Today, if an interview is required for secret-level investigations, or if a second interview 

is required for persons applying for a top secret clearance, the investigator will go through every 

question on the SF-86 to verify the information provided by the applicant.129 Investigators are 

also permitted to probe the subject further if the investigator believes the subject to be lying or 

otherwise hiding information.130 

This improvement is a step in the right direction, but if the investigation fails to uncover 

factual information about relevant issues, then there is still no way to verify the applicant’s 

statements. Aaron Alexis told the investigator conducting his interview that he “deflated” the 

tires on a vehicle, resulting in his 2004 arrest.

131

 The investigator’s interview note stated:

The subject and the male person had been aggravating each other by 

taking retaliatory action toward each other’s parked cars. The male person 

had put some foreign substance in the subject’s gas tank and the subject 

retaliated by deflating the male person’s tires. 

* * *

The subject committed this offense because he was retaliating for being 

intimidated by the male person. The subject does not intend to repeat this 

type of behavior because he would avoid any confrontation and notify 

authorities if a similar situation were to occur in the future.132

Alexis’ description of the event omits key information included in the police report. He did not 

tell the investigator that he used a gun to shoot out the tires. Nor did he tell the investigator that 

he committed this act during a self-described “black out fueled by anger,” that he did not 

respond to officer’s attempts to contact him multiple times, or that his family believed he had 

anger management issues associated with PTSD.133 

The investigator was unaware that Alexis was lying—and there was no way for him to 

know unless he had seen the police report. The field investigator who conducted the Alexis 

interview told the Committee that, had he known that a gun was involved in Alexis’ 2004 arrest, 

he would have specifically asked Alexis about the gun and included a note in his report about 

 

will be scheduled by a combination of inquiry and record coverage. (See Service 

Availability below for additional information about law checks).

128 Miller Tr. at 186.

129 Id. 

130 Interview of [Alexis Investigator 3] (Oct. 25, 2013).

131 Alexis Investigative Report at 20.

132 Id. (emphasis added).

133 Seattle Police Report at 4.
Page | 24

the use of a gun.134 Similarly, had he known the underlying facts of the arrest, he would have 

challenged Alexis’ description of the events, and would have included a note in his report that 

Alexis was not fully truthful when he first described the incident.135 

When investigators are unable to uncover factual details about prior criminal activity, 

then the applicant is able to create a set of facts that fit the arrest, or leave out key details that 

would cast them in a negative light. Secret level investigations present a particular challenge in 

this regard because no other sources—family members, neighbors, or coworkers—are 

interviewed. As seen with Aaron Alexis, Secret clearance-holders maintain access to controlled 

spaces like the Washington Navy Yard, Fort Hood, and other secure facilities around the world. 

In the near future, OPM plans to implement a system that allows for digital images of any 

hard copy records obtained during an investigation to be uploaded into the OPM system for 

review by other investigators.136 But such imaging is useless if investigators fail to obtain the 

records in the first place. Alexis’ interviewer, for example, told the Committee that he had

never received a police report before interviewing an applicant about a criminal issue.137 Nor 

did he recall ever receiving substantive records on any topic before conducting an interview.138

Such a lack of critical information severely compromises the quality of the background 

investigation as a whole.

ii. Quality Review of Contractor Investigations

Numerous studies and audits have been completed by GAO and OPM’s Office of the 

Inspector General about the quality of OPM security clearance investigations.139 The results are 

consistent – OPM has a problem maintaining the quality of its investigations. A 2009 GAO 

study, for example, found that 87 percent of OPM investigations were incomplete.140 While 

OPM and the Contractors have processes and procedures in place to review investigative files for 

quality and completeness, more needs to be done to improve quality in this area.

During the course of this investigation, the Committee learned that OPM, DOD, and 

numerous other agencies are currently participating in a Quality Assessment Working Group that 

 

134 Interview of [Alexis Investigator 3] (Oct. 25, 2013).

135 Id.

136 Miller Tr. at 186.

137 Interview of [Alexis Investigator 3] (Oct. 25, 2013).

138 Id.

139 See, e.g., Gov’t Accounting Office, Background Investigations: Office of Personnel Management Needs to 

Improve Transparency and of its Pricing and Seek Cost Savings (Feb. 2012) (GAO-12-197); U.S. Office of 

Personnel Mgmt., Office of the Inspector General, Audit of the Quality Assurance Process Over Background 

Investigations (June 22, 2010) (Report 4A-IS-00-09-060); Gov’t Accounting Office, DOD Personnel Clearances: 

Comprehensive Timeliness Reporting, Complete Clearance Documentation, and Quality Measures are Needed to 

Further Improve the Clearance Process (May 2009) (GAO-09-400); U.S. Office of Personnel Mgmt., Office of the 

Inspector General, Audit of the Security of Personally Identifiable Information in the Federal Investigative Services 

Division of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (Apr. 2009) (Report 4A-IS-00-08-014).

140 Gov’t Accounting Office, DOD Personnel Clearances: Comprehensive Timeliness Reporting, Complete 

Clearance Documentation, and Quality Measures are Needed to Further Improve the Clearance Process (May 

2009) (GAO-09-400). OPM disputes this figure, instead noting that less than two percent of files are returned to 

OPM by the agencies for rework. See Miller Tr. at 132.
Page | 25

is evaluating quality standards for completed security clearance investigations across the Federal 

government.141 The Committee looks forward to receiving the final quality standards and other 

recommendations made by this group. Outside of creating consistent quality standards, however, 

OPM must continue to find ways, potentially utilizing new technologies, to improve the quality 

of its investigations.

Contractors must review each investigative file in its entirety for completeness and 

quality before sending the file to OPM. This quality review is required under the terms of the 

contract. Each of the three contractors have internal quality review processes to ensure that 

investigative files are complete and meet quality standards before they are sent to OPM.142 If the 

investigative file is incomplete or a lead has not been exhausted, OPM sends the file back to the 

field for further investigation. 

Since OPM’s PIPS system monitors the status of all background investigation cases, if 

the contractor does not complete a quality review within a certain time period, a case can 

potentially “auto-release” and go directly into OPM’s quality review process without having 

gone through a contractor review. Miller described this “auto-release” function during a 

transcribed interview with Committee investigators. He testified:

A. No, well, the auto release function, to the best of my [knowledge], 

is auto releases to review, because there are certain timeliness 

mandates that we have in the system. There is a function in the 

system that when a contractor or a Fed finishes an investigation, 

that the system notices, okay, all the items are there, all the ROIs 

are there. It gives the contractor on their side a certain time period 

to conduct their initial quality review before they provide it to the 

Federal staff for our quality review. 

If they exceed that time period, the system is scheduled to 

automatically release it to full Fed review. My understanding, it 

was put in the system, one, to keep the cases moving and to not 

allow a backlog in review, contract review side of the house. 

Q. So it sounds like there is the potential that a case could be released 

once all the items are there, but potentially before the contractor 

has performed their quality review. 

A. Their quality review. That's exactly right.143

According to Miller, FIS can tell whether a case was auto-released or released by the contractor 

upon completion of the quality review.144 Miller testified that, in his opinion, the auto-release 

function was necessary to the process. He stated:

 

141 Miller Tr. at 7.

142 One of the contractors, USIS, is currently under investigation for failing to perform a quality review of 

investigative files before sending them to OPM for final review.

143 Miller Tr. at 94.
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Q. Is this auto release function still necessary? 

A. Oh, it is necessary. 

Q. Do you know how frequently it's used? 

A. I do not know how frequently it's used. 

Q. And why is it still necessary? 

A. Timeliness. It is all based on making sure we meet the timeliness 

mandates of 40 days.145

Miller did not express concern that auto-released cases skipped the mandated contractor quality 

review because “the purpose of the contract review is for us, OPM-FIS, not for our customer . . .

because if the contractor’s mandated to do a quality review of that case before they turn it over to 

us, there should be less work on our Federal review staff when they go through it.”146 When a 

case is auto-released, not only does the case undergo one fewer level of quality review at the 

contractor level, but any problems with the file found during OPM’s quality review process may 

be held against the contractor.

OPM explained to Committee staff that a contractor has a certain amount of time once all 

reports of investigation have been submitted to quality review the case before a case is autoreleased.147

 One of the contractors, however, told the Committee staff that a case can be autoreleased as soon as the last report of investigation is submitted if the case is past the date by 

which it must be returned to OPM. 148 Based on its investigation, the Committee believes that 

contractors should have a limited amount of time to perform a quality review once all reports of 

investigation have been submitted, even if the case is past the critical date. 

Investigations performed by OPM employees do not undergo a preliminary quality 

review as with investigations performed by contractors. Still, OPM does have policies and 

practices in place to monitor quality before the final review. Quality review for OPM 

investigations starts with an informal review by an investigator’s supervisor. The review process 

focuses on newer investigators or investigators who need extra assistance. These supervisors are 

also responsible for supervising and managing the workload of 18 to 22 federal investigators.149 

In short, for field investigations conducted by OPM employees, these informal supervisor 

reviews take the place of formal quality assurance reviews for field investigations conducted by 

contractors.

 

144 Id. at 95.

145 Id. at 96.

146 Id. at 96-97.

147 Briefing by FIS to H. Comm. on Oversight & Gov’t Reform Staff (Jan. 17, 2014) [hereinafter Jan. 17 FIS 

Briefing].

148 Contractor 1 Briefings.

149 Miller Tr. at 99-100.
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iii. Final Quality Review by OPM FIS

Before investigations are complete and the results are delivered to the client agency, FIS’ 

Investigations Quality Group reviews all background investigations, whether conducted by a 

contractor or by OPM investigators. OPM has approximately 300 federal employees who 

perform these reviews.150 Miller described the quality review process during his interview. He 

stated: 

A. So they evaluate the investigation to the investigative standards to 

make sure all the piece parts are there, that issues that are 

identified during the investigation are resolved for issue 

resolution, and that it is complete. If there is an item missing, for 

instance, if there is an employment that is not in the case, there 

has got to be a notation as to why that employment was not 

obtained. So they do the final overall review of the investigation 

before it gets delivered. 

Q. And is that of every investigation? 

A. Yes. Every investigation that OPM does goes through a Federal 

controlled quality review. We have 50 contractors that are 

responsible for doing a quality review of low level cases.151

OPM’s quality reviewers examine all components of the investigation, including all reports of 

investigation, to ensure that the investigation is complete. OPM’s quality review also examines 

whether all issues were resolved and all leads were covered. Miller stated: 

Q. [D]oes the quality review performed by OPM before it goes to the 

customer, does that look at the substance of the investigative 

report. So, for instance, does it look at whether a lead was 

thoroughly covered? 

A. Yes. And typically that section of the quality review is called issue 

resolution. You know, if there was issues [sic] identified, did we 

resolve it. In other words, did we explain the circumstances and 

the background to it.152

OPM quality reviewers send investigations back to the field for rework approximately 16 percent 

of the time.153

 

150 Briefing by OPM FIS to H. Comm. on Oversight & Gov’t Reform Staff (Oct. 7, 2013).

151 Miller Tr. at 13-14. The approximately 50 contractors are USIS employees reviewing certain types of cases as 

part of the support services contract.

152 Id. at 177.

153 Briefing by OPM FIS, to H. Comm. on Oversight & Gov’t Reform (Oct. 7, 2013).
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Cases that involved only automated records checks and have no leads sent to the field, 

include Secret-level NACLC or NAC investigations.

154 The Closing Authorization and Support 

Team (CAST), a group of USIS employees working on the support services contract, perform the 

quality check on these investigations.

155

 Miller has lowered the number of cases that undergo

CAST review in the past two years.156 Today, CAST reviewers perform quality review on 

special agreement checks157 and cases that have no issues.158 CAST reviewers cannot clear cases 

that have any issues—such cases must be sent to OPM employees for final review.159 Federal 

employees review nearly all, if not all, cases with field work.160

iv. Integrity Assurance 

There have been unfortunate instances in which investigators—both OPM and contract—

have intentionally falsified investigation data. To date, 21 investigators have either pleaded to, 

or been found guilty of, falsification of data.

161

 To combat falsification, OPM and the 

contractors each employ programs to randomly re-contact sources that provided information on 

applicants to determine if the investigator actually contacted them, and whether the investigator 

followed proper procedures.

162 OPM also finds potentially falsified data through supervisor 

reviews, external referrals, audits, and the quality review process.163

Under the terms of their contracts with OPM, the contractors must also randomly recontact at least three percent of sources contacted by each contract field investigator. OPM 

performs a similar review, re-contacting at least three percent of sources for each OPM and 

contractor field investigator each month.164 If a contractor discovers potential misconduct on the 

part of one of its employees, it must report the misconduct to OPM within 24 hours.165 OPM and 

contractors also perform operational and compliance audits to determine, among other things, 

that investigative files include all relevant information.

If OPM receives or develops an allegation that the investigator either did not contact the 

source, or did not accurately report information the source provided, then FIS either open an

internal inquiry or allows the contractor to open an inquiry to determine whether the allegation 

can be substantiated.166 The Integrity Assurance Division, using either OPM or contract 

 

154 Miller Tr. at 67.

155 Id.

156 Id. at 136-37.

157 Special agreement checks are single or multiple record checks that do not constitute a complete investigation.

158 Miller Tr. at 138-39.

159 Id. at 68-69. The PIPS software can determine whether any issues arose during the investigation through the use 

of issue codes. Id.

160 Id. at 67.

161 See, Falsification Convictions [OPM011102]. To date, eleven federal investigators and ten contract investigators 

have been convicted for falsifying information on security clearance investigations. Id.

162Miller Tr. at 71. Contractor 3 briefing (Contractor 3 representatives told the Committee that, while the contract 

requires a 3 percent recontact rate, their recontact rate is closer to 10 percent); Contractor 2 briefing (Contractor 2 

representatives told the Committee that their recontact rate is approximately 6 percent).

163 Jan. 17 FIS Briefing.

164 Miller Tr. at 142.

165 Id. at 144-45.

166 Id. at 72.
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investigators, will re-run investigations performed by the individual suspected of falsification. If 

the allegations are substantiated, a contract investigator is immediately removed from the 

contract, while an OPM employee is placed on administrative leave. At that point, Integrity 

Assurance will re-investigate all investigative work performed by the individual during a predetermined period of time.167

Two contractors explained to the Committee that if OPM investigates one of their 

investigators, they do not always receive the results of OPM’s investigation—particularly if a 

criminal investigation emerges.168 OPM charges the contractor for the cost of OPM’s 

investigation, but does not itemize the costs incurred for the investigation. If a contract 

employee is under OPM investigation, OPM should keep the contractor informed not only of the 

allegations against the employee, but also of the outcome of the investigation, and the means by 

which the employee falsified information, if such conduct occurred. Such information is 

necessary in order for contractors and OPM to better train employees.

C. Adjudication by the Department of Defense

Once the investigative file has been assembled and quality checked by OPM, it is sent to 

the requesting agency for adjudication. The Department of Defense, OPM’s largest customer, 

adjudicated approximately 680,000 cases in 2013, and approximately 767,000 cases in 2012. 

DOD-CAF (Centralized Adjudicative Facility), the centralized adjudicating agency for the 

Department, employs 460 adjudicators.169 

The Department of Defense’s adjudicative process has multiple levels of review. In the 

absence of any derogatory information contained in an applicant’s file, a certified first-level 

adjudicator has the authority to decide whether to grant a clearance.170 The existence of 

derogatory information requires at least a second-level review. A second-level review is also 

necessary whenever the applicant has foreign citizenship, the initial adjudicator requests a 

second level review, or the case involves a warning or conditional letter (described below) 

requiring a supervisor’s signature.

171

 A third-level review is necessary if the first and second 

level adjudicators disagree on how to adjudicate the case, if they both agree that clearance should 

be denied, or if the case is particularly difficult.172 A fourth-level review by the Branch Chief 

may also be necessary.173

Approximately 25 percent of secret clearances are “zestfully clean,” a description both 

DOD and OPM used to indicate that no issues arose in the course of the investigation.174 In 

 

167 Id. at 72.

168 Contractor 3 briefing; Contractor 1 briefing.

169 Briefing by the DOD to H. Comm. on Oversight & Gov’t Reform Staff (Oct. 22, 2013). Ninety-five percent of 

DOD adjudications are conducted at the DOD-CAF. Id.

170 Nov. 21 DOD Briefing. A first-level adjudicator can adjudicate cases with “minor” issues, such as traffic tickets. 

Id. A first-level adjudicator, who is sometimes only at the GS-7 level, is also able to grant Top Secret clearances. 

171 Adjudicator 2 Interview.

172 Id.

173 Id.

174 Miller Tr. at 69-70; Nov. 21 DOD Briefing.
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these cases, a computer reviews the file and has the ability to grant the clearance; since there is 

nothing for the first-level adjudicator to review, no such review takes place.

175

If an investigative file is not complete when delivered by OPM to the Department, then 

the adjudicator is supposed to send the file back to OPM for further investigation. The 

Department of Defense noted that while it only sends approximately two percent of cases back to 

OPM for additional work, approximately 31 percent of cases delivered by OPM contained 

deficiencies.

176

 Department representatives stated it would in fact take more time to work with 

OPM to determine if a file was deficient, and then correct the deficiency, than it would take to 

simply obtain the information themselves. In addition, the Department and OPM often disagree 

on whether an investigation is deficient, and OPM charges the Department for any additional 

information it seeks on an applicant. Therefore, the Department has created its own internal 

process to correct these deficiencies, usually by obtaining information straight from the 

applicant. 

The Committee spoke with both of the DOD adjudicators who granted Alexis’ clearance. 

They explained that 70 to 80 percent of all investigative files sent by OPM are missing at least 

some information.177 The file is frequently missing financial information, such as documentation 

of debt repayment or payment arrangements.178 Both adjudicators expressed a preference to 

obtain missing information from the applicant directly via the applicant’s command rather than 

going back to OPM for the information.179 This preference was not due to cost, but timeliness. 

Requesting additional information from OPM requires that OPM reopen the case, contact and 

potentially interview the subject, close the case, and send the information back to the 

adjudicator.180 The two adjudicators explained that they only go back to OPM if the missing 

information is something that OPM must provide, such as a missing subject interview or a 

missing FBI legal check.181 

Both adjudicators, and other DOD representatives, told the Committee that it would be 

extremely helpful if investigative reports to included actual records, including arrest records and 

financial records showing timely debt repayment, as opposed to simply an investigator summary 

of the records.

182

 OPM, however, told the Committee that any records obtained in the course of 

an investigation are sent to the adjudicating agency with the investigative report.183 It is 

therefore not clear whether records obtained in the course of an investigation are actually sent 

with the investigative report to the adjudicator. 

In numerous meetings with the Committee, Miller expressed a desire for more open 

communication with DOD-CAF about areas for improvement in OPM investigations. Miller 

 

175 Nov. 21 DOD Briefing.

176 Id.

177 Adjudicator 1 Interview (Dec. 6, 2013); Adjudicator 2 Interview (Dec. 6, 2013).

178 Id.

179 Id.

180 Adjudicator 2 Interview. 

181 Adjudicator 1 Interview; Adjudicator 2 Interview.

182 Nov. 21 DOD Briefing; Adjudicator 1 Interview; Adjudicator 2 Interview.

183 Jan. 17 FIS Briefing.
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also explained that adjudicators often request information that is not part of a certain type of 

investigation. He stated:

It's a secret case, and they've got all the elements of that secret case, but 

because they don't want to make an adjudicated decision without some 

additional investigative work that goes beyond the investigative product 

that was requested, they'll come back to us and say, I know you don't do a 

law check in these cases, but go do a law check on this, and that is an RSI. 

It's not -- it's not because it didn't make standard. It's because they want 

additional information beyond the investigation that was requested. And 

that -- that happens frequently. 184

If an investigative file leads an adjudicator to believe that the applicant may have mental 

health issues, then the adjudicator can order a mental evaluation by an approved psychiatrist. 

The second-level adjudicator for Alexis’ case said that, if the investigative file included a 

notation that family members said Alexis may have PTSD, then the adjudicator would have 

likely ordered a mental evaluation prior to adjudication.185

Adjudicators can grant clearance to applicants whose investigations showed financial or 

other issues with a “warning letter” or “conditional letter.” These letters are sent to the 

applicant’s command within the Department. A warning letter makes the applicant and the 

applicant’s command aware of issues uncovered during the investigation, and informs the 

applicant that the issues need to be resolved by the next evaluation.186 A conditional letter 

requires an additional step before a full clearance is granted. For example, a conditional letter 

may grant an applicant a clearance on the condition that the applicant will take steps to improve 

his or her finances in the next six months.187 Further, a conditional letter requires some sort of 

response from the applicant. If the applicant does not respond, then the file is flagged for the 

security officer.188 A warning letter does not include follow-up by DOD-CAF; instead, the 

applicant and the applicant’s command must report any relevant information. In the case of 

Aaron Alexis, despite several instances of improper conduct by Alexis, neither he nor his 

command reported anything to the adjudicators.

Contractors employing cleared individuals do not receive copies of warning letters. The 

letter is instead sent to the security officer of the agency holding the contract. One adjudicator 

told the Committee that contract employers should be made aware of any warning or conditional 

letters.189 The Experts, the company where Alexis was employed at the time of the Navy Yard 

shooting, told the Committee that the company did not receive a copy of Alexis’ warning letter

when he started working there, nor was the company aware that a warning letter accompanied his 

original security clearance.190 Further, representatives of The Experts told the Committee that 

 

184 Miller Tr. at 132.

185 Adjudicator 2 Interview. 

186 Id. In the case of Aaron Alexis and other Secret-level clearance holder, the “next evaluation” would occur in ten 

years.

187 Id.

188 Id.

189 Id.

190 Dec. 19 Experts Briefing.
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they unaware of any instances in which they had been informed that a warning or conditional 

letter accompanied the clearance of one of their cleared employees.191

D. Periodic Reinvestigation 

An applicant who receives a clearance does not undergo reinvestigation for five to 

fifteen years, depending on the clearance.

192

 An applicant must “self-report” any derogatory 

information in between clearance investigations. Aaron Alexis was arrested several times after 

he received his Secret clearance. Apparently, neither Alexis nor his commanding officers 

reported those arrests. His commanding officers clearly knew about the incidents, as evidenced 

by the non-judicial punishments filed against Alexis.

New federal investigative standards will require reinvestigation of Secret clearances 

every five years instead of every ten years. 193 Yet, even this shortened time period is 

insufficient. As discussed below in Part III, a continuous investigation system is long overdue. 

IV. Legislative Improvements: How to Patch Holes in the Process

Given the sheer volume of background checks that OPM conducts annually, issues are 

bound to arise on occasion. No system will be foolproof. However, the Committee’s 

investigation uncovered a number of holes that exist in the federal security clearance process, 

and it is because of these holes that an individual like Aaron Alexis was able to slip through the 

cracks and receive a clearance. In the coming weeks, the Committee plans to consider 

legislation to patch some of these holes, so that fewer issues—and fewer Aaron Alexises—will 

occur in the future. Aspects of this legislation under consideration by the Committee are 

described below.

A. Continuous Evaluation

Under current law, a person holding a Top Secret clearance must be reinvestigated every 

five years in order to continue holding the clearance, those holding a Secret clearance must be 

reinvestigated every ten years, and those holding a Confidential clearance must be reinvestigated 

every fifteen years.194 In the intervening years, cleared individuals and their supervisors must 

report any derogatory information. Not only are these time periods simply too long, but the 

required self-reporting simply does not regularly take place. Aaron Alexis’ conduct in the years 

after he received his Secret clearance should have raised serious questions about his ability to 

hold a clearance. Yet, neither Alexis nor his commanding officers reported any of this behavior. 

Given that he was not due for reinvestigation until 2017, there was little that adjudicators could 

do, absent such reporting.

 

191 Id.

192 Currently, reinvestigation of a top secret clearance occurs after five years, a secret clearance after ten years, and a 

confidential clearance after fifteen years.

193 Miller Tr. at 205.

194 Intelligence Reform & Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, P.L. 108-458, 118 Stat. 3706.
Page | 33

In order to capture relevant conduct between periods of investigation, a system of 

continuous investigation needs to be implemented. This is not a new concept. In June 2005, the 

Department of Defense completed beta testing the Automated Continuous Evaluation System 

and expected to have initial operating capability within the year.195 In a 2008 Executive Order, 

President George W. Bush stressed the importance of continuous evaluations.196 

Testifying before the Subcommittee on Intelligence Community Management of the 

House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in 2010, then-FIS Associate Director Kathy 

Dillaman explained that OPM would soon launch a continuous evaluation investigation 

product.197 Dillaman testified:

[A] new investigation product in FY 2011 that provides for a validated 

suite of automated records checks that can be used as an annual 

assessment of individuals cleared at the Top Secret level . . . provides 

agencies with a quick and cost effective method for assessing employees 

and supports a more robust continuous evaluation program.198

In August 2013, the President commissioned a Review Group on Intelligence and 

Communications Technology to review “how in light of advancements in communications 

technologies, the United States can employ its technical collection capabilities in a manner that 

optimally protects our national security and advances our foreign policy while respecting our 

commitment to privacy and civil liberties, recognizing our need to maintain the public trust, and 

reducing the risk of unauthorized disclosure.”199 The Group, led by experts in the intelligence 

and legal fields, issued a 300-page report with 46 recommendations.200 Recommendation 38 

stated:

We recommend that the vetting of personnel for access to classified 

information should be ongoing, rather than periodic. A standard of 

Personnel Continuous Monitoring should be adopted, incorporating data 

 

195 S. Comm. on Homeland Security & Gov’t Affairs, Subcomm. On Oversight of Gov’t Mgmt., the Fed. Workforce 

& the Dist. Of Columbia, Hearing on Modernizing the Security Clearance Process, 109thCong. (June 28, 2005) 

(Statement of Heather Anderson, Dir., Strategic Integration, Office of the Deputy Under Sec’y of Defense, 

Counterintelligence & Security, & Acting Dir., Defense Security Service).

196 Exec. Order No. 13467, 73 Fed. Reg. 38103 (June 27, 2008) (“An individual who has been determined to be 

eligible for or who currently has access to classified information shall be subject to continuous evaluation under 

standards (including, but not limited to, the frequency of such evaluation) as determined by the Director of National 

Intelligence.).

197 H. Permanent Select Comm. on Intelligence, Subcomm. On Intelligence Community Mgmt, Hearing on 

Personnel Security Clearance Reform, 111th Cong. (Dec. 1, 2010) (Statement of Kathy Dillaman).

198Id. 

199 About the Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies, available at 

http://www.dni.gov/index.php/intelligence-community/review-group (last visited Feb. 3, 2014). 

200 Liberty and Security in a Changing World, Report and Recommendations of The President’s Review Group on 

Intelligence and Communications Technologies (Dec. 12, 2013), available 

athttp://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2013-12-12_rg_final_report.pdf. 
Page | 34

from Insider Threat programs and from commercially available sources, to 

note such things in credit ratings or any arrests or court proceedings.201

In November 2013, the Chief Security Officer of the Department of Homeland Security, 

Gregory Marshall, testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security about the merits 

of a continuous evaluation system. He stated:

With the federal investigative standards, the concept of “continuous 

evaluation” is being developed to supplement the normal re-investigation 

reviews of employees which, under the revised standards, will be in fiveyear increments, with a government-led process that examines a person’s 

conduct within his or her normal re-investigation timeframes. As such, 

relevant security information like a recent arrest or conviction for a crime 

outside of the federal system, for example, would become available on a 

timelier basis to security officials responsible for assessing a person’s 

eligibility for access to classified information, thereby helping to ensure 

that classified information and/or federal facilities are appropriately 

safeguarded. “Continuous evaluation” represents a significant process 

improvement over current capabilities and will mitigate some of the 

limitations in the existing background investigation process discussed 

above.202

Current FIS Associate Director Merton Miller also believes a continuous evaluation program is 

the future of security clearance investigations. He testified:

I mean, actually Alexis wasn't due for a reinvestigation until 2017. So 

somebody along the way, and I'm not pointing fingers because I'm sure it 

was a cost in a risk management decision to say, secret level, we 

investigate you every 10 years. Top secret, every 5 years. But the reality 

is, we need to know when there is an adjudicatively relevant event, when 

it happens. And part of this is this continuous evaluation. I know the DNI 

is very committed to it. We are very committed to it. We think that's the 

future of background investigations, where you don't ever close a case. 

This is my vision, okay, so attribute it to me only. But it's a living 

document. It never closes. We're going to constantly update that 

information with information that's relevant to your character and 

conduct.203

The concept of a continuous investigation or evaluation is not new. Despite efforts and promises 

by multiple government agencies over the past decade, a continuous evaluation system is still not 

in use. Given the proliferation of clearances since September 11, 2001, such a system is more 

 

201 Id. at 39.

202 H. Comm. on Homeland Security, Subcomm. On Counterterrorism and Intelligence, Hearing on The Insider 

Threat to Homeland Security: Examining Our Nation’s Security Clearance Process, 112th Cong. (Nov. 13, 2013) 

(Statement of Gregory Marshall).

203 Miller Tr. at 161-62.
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critical than ever. Without legislation to implement the idea, however, a system of continuous 

investigation seems destined to never become a reality.

The Committee is considering legislation to address the problem of the lengthy timeframe 

between reinvestigations, including adding legislative muscle to finally push through completion 

of continuous investigations for security clearance investigations. Potential legislation could 

require the Director of OPM to set up a process, within a strict timeline after the legislation’s 

passage, to obtain relevant information about cleared employees. Information should be updated 

continuously to provide real-time notifications of relevant information with respect to the 

suitability of a covered employee to maintain a security clearance. The continuously updated 

information should include information relating to criminal or civil legal proceedings to which 

the individual with a clearance is a party. Information on financial difficulties the individual 

might encounter after receiving the initial clearance should also be under continuous evaluation.

Legislation may also require OPM to “push” any such notifications from a continuous 

investigation to the agency that granted the individual’s clearance. The adjudicating agency 

would then make a determination as to whether or not the individual may still maintain a 

clearance or request a reinvestigation of the individual.

One of the main challenges in creating this system is how to pull records from other state 

and local databases around the country to update the OPM database in near-real time. As Miller 

explains, this objective is already becoming a priority for OPM. Miller testified:

I mean, the issue, and I'm getting off topic here, but the issue is the record 

repositories. And engaging in the PAC [Performance Accountability 

Council], we had a record repository working group that was supposed to 

look at consistent data standards, data exchange standards, and that wasn't, 

unfortunately, it wasn't the priority at the time. But I think it should be 

now, getting those records, getting access to those records.204

Miller also testified that the “DNI is very committed to [continuous evaluation].”205 As such, the 

legislation requires OPM to consult with the DNI as well as OPM’s top two customers—the 

Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security—when creating the database. 

B. Use of the Internet and Social Media for Background Investigations

OPM last updated its Investigator’s Handbook on July 23, 2007. Since that time, the use 

of social media has risen dramatically. In 2007, Twitter had 50,000 active weekly users.206 

Today, the company has over 230 million active monthly users.207 In April 2007, Facebook had 

 

204 Miller Tr. at 165.

205 Id.

206 Michael Arrington, “End of Speculation: The Real Twitter Usage Numbers,” (Apr. 29, 2008), available at: 

http://techcrunch.com/2008/04/29/end-of-speculation-the-real-twitter-usage-numbers/.

207 About Twitter, Inc., available at: https://about.twitter.com/company (last visited Jan. 30, 2014).
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only 20 million active users.208 Today, the company has 1.23 billion active monthly users.209 In 

2007, Google conducted an average of 1.2 billion searches per day.210 Today, that number has 

grown to 5.92 billion.211 These three social media and search sites, among others, contain a 

treasure trove of information about their users. And the Americans that hold, or will apply for, 

federal security clearances use them frequently. 

Unfortunately, investigators conducting federal security clearance background checks do 

not see, search, or receive reports of the vast amount of information available online. Nor do 

current federal security process guidelines allow the adjudicators who grant the clearances to 

access this information.

When it comes to social media and modern technology, the Investigator’s Handbook is 

antiquated. The current Handbook guidelines strictly prohibit the use of the internet to obtain 

information about an investigative Subject. The Handbook does not address the use of social 

media, but instead includes a near-blanket restriction on the use of the Internet. Page 22 of the 

Handbook states:

The general use of the internet to obtain investigative information is 

strictly prohibited. Do not use the Subject’s identifiers (e.g., SSN) on 

internet sites to obtain investigative results unless you have received 

specific authorization. Such authorization to utilize particular sites will be 

disseminated to investigators when the use of those sites has been vetted 

through the FIPC Records Access and R/D Group. Authorization is 

granted only for use on an approved system. Inquiries regarding the 

approval of internet sites for information gathering should be directed 

through your local supervisor for referral to the Records access and R/D 

Group at FIPC.212

In fact, federal background investigators may only use the Internet, for example, to look up the 

addresses of businesses. The manual states:

Use of the internet is permissible for lead purposes. ‘Lead purposes’ are 

those activities which may assist an investigator in conducting 

investigations more efficiently; however they do not achieve an 

investigative result. For example, an investigator might visit a contractor 

webpage to locate the address of the facility or the homepage of a 

government office to locate points of contact.213

This restrictive policy keeps nearly every piece of information on a Subject’s social networking 

site outside the reach of security clearance investigators. Given that tens of millions of 

 

208 “Number of active users at Facebook over the years,” ASSOC. PRESS (Oct. 23, 2012), available at:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/number-active-users-facebook-over-years-214600186--finance.html.

209 Facebook Newsroom, available at: http://newsroom.fb.com/Key-Facts (last visited Jan. 30, 2014).

210 Google Annual Search Statistics, available at: http://www.statisticbrain.com/google-searches/.

211 Id.

212 OPM Investigator’s Handbook (July 2007) at 1-21. (emphasis added)

213 Id.
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Americans visit social media sites daily, an updated policy that appropriately considers privacy 

concerns would allow federal investigators to pull information about Subjects from of these and 

other websites.

According to Merton Miller, Associate Director for the Federal Investigative Services, 

discussions about obtaining information on Subjects from these sites are underway. He testified:

Q. Can [investigators] currently use the Internet to obtain any other 

information or material –

A. There is not a policy in place, although there has certainly been 

a great deal of dialogue with the Security Executive Agent, 

the ODNI, about establishing a policy for the use of social 

media for a background investigation.214

Miller agrees that investigators can find valuable information pertaining to a Subject’s 

background on these sites, and federal investigators should be able to mine them to verify facts 

or acquire new information. He stated:

Yes. I think most people would say it's a no-brainer, that with all the 

information available about individuals on the Internet today, with 

Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, you know, you name it, that you could 

very easily go out and verify potential information about an individual's 

background. In fact, postings of people drinking when they were under 

age might be on the Internet.215

Allowing federal investigators to use these social media sites, however, does present potential 

challenges. Miller explained:

So I think right now the real keys have been is everybody sees it as a 

potential lead development tool, but not a tool to be used for investigative 

purposes because of the potential privacy issues, number one. And then, 

from my perspective, it's the analytics that would be required behind the 

information you collect. For example, having worked counterintelligence 

operations, it's one thing collecting information. It's a whole other 

process, more costly, to verify the veracity of that information and then 

connect the dots. So I could, as you could, you could go out and build an 

Internet persona for me tonight. You could go home and say, Miller, you 

know, put that out there, and all I would have to do is do a search and I 

would see what you wrote. 

Now, so what is the veracity of that information? You wrote it. You 

posted it. Somebody is going to have to determine the reliability of that. 

So that's the hard part, I think, in applying the social media role in 

 

214 Miller Tr. at 158. (emphasis added).

215 Id.
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background investigations. It's not collecting it, it's not finding it, it's 

then doing the analysis, because when you run an investigation you 

shouldn't be incorporating information that isn't true about the 

subject in that investigation.216

The Committee is considering legislation to require OPM to allow its background 

investigators to use social media sites and other Internet resources to develop information on 

Subjects under investigation for a possible clearance. Such legislation would give OPM 

flexibility to determine how to access these sites, and how to verify information from the sites 

effectively. One possibility would be to have the investigator search for publicly available 

information on a Subject, and then confirm the veracity with the Subject and his or her friends 

and family. Another possibility would ask a Subject to disclose the social media and other 

Internet sites he or she visits on a regular basis on the SF-86. According to Merton Miller, 

discussions about requesting social media information from applicants have not taken place at 

OPM:

Q. A couple questions on that. Because a lot of this is on 

self-reporting, why not have questions in the SF-86 as to please 

list links to your social media sites? 

A. You could potentially do that. 

Q. Is there dialogue about that? 

A. I have not heard any dialogue about adding individual social 

media sites to the SF-86.217 

Regardless, by allowing the use of information from these sites as part of a Subject’s 

background investigation, federal investigators, and ultimately the adjudicators, will be able to 

develop a more complete picture of the Subjects under consideration for a security clearance than 

currently exists today. 

C. Communication between Adjudicators and Investigators

Currently, agency adjudicators do not speak with the OPM or contract investigators who 

investigated a security clearance application. When adjudicators receive an applicant’s file to 

make a determination on a security clearance, the content within the file is the full universe of 

information the adjudicators can consider. Adjudicators cannot simply contact investigators to 

ask follow-up questions about the file. The ability to do so would be extremely helpful to 

adjudicators in certain instances. In the case of Aaron Alexis, the adjudicators could have asked 

the interviewer about Alexis’ demeanor when discussing his 2004 arrest or his multiple credit 

issues. The adjudicators could have asked a different investigator about their efforts to track 

down the police report pertaining to Alexis’ arrest. Instead, these questions were left 

 

216 Id. at 159.

217 Id. at 159.
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unanswered, and the adjudicators were left to evaluate Alexis solely based on the investigative 

file, which presented an incomplete picture of Aaron Alexis.

Merton Miller agreed that allowing adjudicators to contact investigators with follow-up 

questions would be beneficial. He testified:

Q. Do you think it would be useful to allow adjudicators to directly 

speak with investigators if they so desired, so if the adjudicator 

received a file and had questions about the work performed, are 

there benefits or detriments to allowing those? 

A. I think there would -- I think there would be some benefits for an 

adjudicator being able to talk directly to the investigator, you 

know, about -- about that interview, you know, what was captured. 

I think there would be some benefits to that. Now, thinking how 

many adjudicators there are versus the number of investigators, 

that might be a challenge actually to be able to do that, but even 

after the fact, being able to reach out and talk [to] an agent who 

was involved in the investigation, I think, would -- could be 

beneficial to the adjudicator.218

The Department of Defense agrees. Department representatives told the Committee that there 

would be “tremendous benefit” to allowing adjudicators and investigators to speak about an 

investigation.219 Both adjudicators interviewed by Committee staff also expressed a desire to be 

able to ask questions of investigators directly.

The Committee is considering legislation to address this issue by allowing adjudicators 

and investigators to speak with one another to assist the adjudicators in making their clearance 

determinations. Such legislation would afford the Department of Defense and other client 

agencies the ability to coordinate with OPM individually in order to determine the most effective 

way for these discussions to occur, and to set information-sharing guidelines between the two 

parties. This first step is long overdue.

D. Mental Health Evaluation

Each applicant for a security clearance is required to answer a basic question about their 

mental health. Section 21 of the SF-86 states:

 

218 Miller Tr. at 161.

219 Nov. 21 DOD Briefing.
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If an applicant answers “Yes” on Section 21 of the SF-86, the applicant is then required to sign a 

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) release form. If an applicant 

answers “No” to Section 21 of the SF-86, no HIPAA release form is required.

A problem arises when the applicant has in fact been treated for mental health issues, yet 

answers “No” on the form. Currently, investigators are unable to cross-check whether or not the 

applicant has been treated for such issues, unless the applicant mentions so during the personal 

interview—which is only required for a Top Secret level clearance, or if information arises 

during an investigation for a Secret level clearance to trigger such an interview. 

The Committee is considering legislation that would assist investigators in better 

capturing mental health information. 

E. Cooperation From State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies

As discussed earlier, federal law requires local law enforcement agencies to provide 

criminal history information to federal security clearance investigators. Unfortunately, many 

local law enforcement agencies frequently shun federal security clearance investigators, either 

refusing to provide this criminal history information, or providing only limited information. 

Without any enforcement mechanism against local law enforcement agencies that refuse to 

comply, federal security clearance investigators are unable to obtain pivotal information 

pertaining to their cases. Often—as was the case with Aaron Alexis—this information is critical 

for an adjudicator responsible for deciding whether to grant a security clearance. 

Background investigators did not obtain the police report for Alexis’ 2004 arrest for 

malicious mischief during the course of his Secret level clearance investigation. As such, 

Alexis’ file did not include important information contained in the arrest report, and DOD 

adjudicators never learned the details of that arrest. When Committee staff interviewed the 

adjudicator who performed the second-level review of Alexis’ file, the adjudicator stated that the 

malicious mischief arrest—a very broad offense—could have been for “hitting a mailbox with a 

can.”220 The adjudicator never learned that Alexis used a gun or that his family believed he 

might have had post-traumatic stress disorder, two seemingly important pieces of information to 

 

220 Telephone Interview of [Former U.S. Navy Adjudicator] by the H. Comm. on Oversight & Gov’t Reform 

Majority and Minority Staff (Dec. 6, 2013).
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help decide whether to grant Alexis a clearance. Additionally, the federal background 

investigators working on Alexis’ case did not learn of this information, and were therefore 

unable to confront Alexis about it during his interview.

Instead of cooperating with OPM investigators, many local law enforcement offices 

simply refer the investigators to the local courts to obtain records. This was the typical 

procedure in Seattle at the time of Aaron Alexis’ 2007 security clearance investigation. Miller 

stated:

And so, I mean, just, you know, cutting to the Seattle situation, you know, 

with Alexis, Seattle advised back in 2007 for the staff to go to the 

courts to obtain the criminal history record information that would be 

available on Alexis. So the process at that time was to go into the court 

records in an automated way and obtain, basically download the record of 

what's in the system. You know, malicious mischief was the charge. The 

disposition was dismissed. And that's what was put into the file.221

The difference between a record from a court and a record of the police report from the law 

enforcement office is enormous. Even statewide databases that OPM has approved for 

investigator use, such as the Washington Statewide Database, provide only cursory information 

about a criminal incident, such as the date of offense, charge, and disposition. 

As discussed earlier, the police report from Aaron Alexis’ 2004 arrest contained highly 

relevant details about Alexis’ conduct—including his use of a gun. Yet, the file OPM sent to the 

Navy adjudicator regarding this arrest, obtained from the Washington Statewide Database, 

contained simply the words “malicious mischief.” Unquestionably, the police report contains 

more detailed and relevant information about the 2004 Alexis incident. An adjudicator needs the 

type of information in the police report. Yet, too often, that information is never passed along.

Shortly after Aaron Alexis went on his murderous rampage, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus 

recommended that “all Office of Personnel Management investigative reports involving security 

clearances include any available police documentation.”222 Merton Miller agreed that, at least in 

theory, this would be helpful for adjudicators. Miller testified:

Personally, I think there would be great benefit of having the most detail 

possible regarding the circumstances of the arrest to address character and 

conduct issues on the individual. 

Miller noted, however, that doing so could prove costly. He stated:

And so, personally, there may be significant cost challenges associated 

with actually obtaining the level of record, not necessarily just for the 

government, but for the local jurisdictions as well to provide resources 

 

221 Miller Tr. at 102.

222 Kris Osborn, “Mabus Wants Changes to Clearances After Shooting,” Military.com (Sept. 23, 2013), available at: 

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/09/23/mabus-wants-changes-to-clearances-after-shooting.html.
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who can actually respond to and, oh, by the way, do it in a timely 

manner.223 

Responding directly to Secretary Mabus’ suggestion that OPM include any available police 

documentation in its investigative reports, Miller again mentioned the cost and challenges to 

local law enforcement offices. Miller testified:

I understand why he made that recommendation. I guess the real question 

is, the Secretary does not know the challenges associated with obtaining 

those records from the jurisdictions and how it varies. Plus, I'm not sure 

the Secretary would understand what the cost implications of that 

recommendation would be. . . . There were -- there are significant 

efficiencies there that could potentially be lost if we were to ask to have 

every piece part, but I understand why he would say that.224

When local law enforcement agencies do not cooperate with OPM investigators in any 

way, they risk running afoul of federal law. Agencies that provide only cursory information to 

OPM investigators rather than complete copies of arrest records or detailed information about the 

causes of an arrest or other criminal activity are circumventing the spirit of the law. When OPM 

investigators are not able to determine crucial details of a Subject’s criminal history, the results, 

as in the case of Aaron Alexis, could prove deadly. OPM maintains a list of the local law 

enforcement agencies that do not fully cooperate with OPM or its retained investigators when 

they request records on investigation Subjects. Unfortunately, some of the country’s largest 

local law enforcement agencies, such as the Los Angeles Police Department, are on that list.225 

The New York City Police Department is also on that list, with a note that says “Does not 

cooperate in any way, shape, or form.”226 The Newark Police Department is on the list, with a 

note that says “Will not fulfill any requests other than for law enforcement agencies”227—despite 

the requirement in 5 U.S.C. § 9101 to cooperate with OPM. Baltimore, Maryland and 

Washington, D.C.—two cities compromising the metropolitan region where the largest number 

of individuals holding clearances reside in the country—are also on the list. The Baltimore 

police department does “not release any records without an individual’s fingerprints.”228 The 

Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. simply “does not cooperate” and suggests 

that an investigator “[g]o to the courthouse.”229

In all, OPM lists over 450 uncooperative local law enforcement offices. These offices 

hold millions of arrest records and police reports. Withholding these records is illegal, and it 

seriously hinders the background investigation process. 

 

223 Miller Tr. at 103-4.

224 Id. at 114.

225 “Uncooperative Law Agencies Master List, FIS” (Jan. 23, 2014) [OPM014538].

226 Id. [OPM014545].

227 Id.

228 Id. [OPM014543].

229 Id. [OPM014539].
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OPM appears to have tacitly endorsed the uncooperative practices of local law 

enforcement agencies. Not only has OPM agreed to allow investigators to use databases that do 

not include all information OPM requests from local law enforcement agencies230 in a pamphlet 

explaining how to cooperate with security clearance investigations, but it appears to encourage 

investigators not to spend too much time obtaining arrest and other criminal records.231

The Committee is considering legislation to address the problem of non-cooperation by 

local law enforcement offices. Such legislation could both clarify what information local law 

enforcement agencies must provide to security clearance investigators, and also tie certain grants 

from the federal government to cooperation with OPM. 

V. Allegations of Fabrication and Fraud

It is clear from the Committee’s investigation that OPM takes quality issues very 

seriously. As discussed previously in Section III.B, OPM and its contractors employ various 

policies to ensure quality and find potential instances of fabrication at an individual level. This 

is evidenced by the 21 investigators—11 federal and 10 contractor—who have been convicted 

for fabrication. 

In the course of this investigation, the Committee learned of issues of fabrication and 

fraud not raised by the Aaron Alexis background investigation. For the last several years, OPM 

and the Department of Justice have been investigating allegations of fraud committed by USIS. 

The Department has joined a False Claims Act lawsuit against USIS seeking over $1 billion in 

damages. The current management of the company was brought on after the allegations were 

made, and has told the Committee they are fully cooperating with the investigation.

On July 1, 2011, a former USIS employee filed a qui tam lawsuit in federal court alleging

that the company defrauded the federal government. Before he left the company, the 

whistleblower was Director of Fieldwork Services. In this position, he managed USIS 

employees responsible for performing quality reviews on investigative reports USIS performed 

for the federal government. USIS was obligated to conduct these quality reviews under its 

contract with the government.

USIS managers informed him that the company had been employing a practice known 

within the company as “dumping.” The whistleblower described dumping as such:

 

230 See Law Enforcement & The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Federal Investigative Services (June 2013) 

(“The Investigator will request pertinent information about each offense, including the data/place of the offense, 

statement of the actual charge, circumstances of the offense, and its disposition. In addition, the Investigator may 

ask for a copy of the police report.).

231 Office of Personnel Mgmt, Case Management or, How to Complete a 30-day Caseload in 30 Days or Less, (Sept. 

2005) at 17 (“LAW CHECK/OTHER RECORDS: they’ve either got ‘em, or they don’t. If they decline to look for 

records and you’ve tried normal appeals, explain situation to supervisor and follow their guidance.”) [OPM006216].
Page | 44

Dumping is the releasing of Cases to OPM that were represented as Field 

Finished that were not reviewed by a [Quality] Reviewer and/or had not 

been investigated at all.232

The whistleblower stated that he was directed to dump in order to “collect full 

compensation on the contract for February 2011.”233 The whistleblower, however, refused to 

dump cases, “causing USIS to miss receiving its maximum profits.”234 He allegedly was fired 

from USIS in June 2011 “as a result of his refusing to dump cases to OPM that were not field 

finished.”235

On January, 21, 2014, the Department of Justice filed a civil complaint against USIS for 

violating the False Claims Act, alleging that USIS management “dumped” incomplete 

background investigation reports to OPM without performing the quality review required by its 

contract with OPM. 

According to the Department, “[i]nternal USIS documents confirm that USIS Senior 

Management was aware of and directed the dumping practices,” including directives to “clear 

out our shelves in order to hit revenue.”236 This alleged fraud was enormous and persistent. 

According to the Department, USIS “dumped” approximately 665,000 background 

investigations, comprising about 40% of the total number of investigations conducted by the 

company during this four-year period.237

Although allegations of dumping were not within the scope of the Committee’s 

investigation, the Committee will continue to monitor the Department’s investigation as it 

proceeds.

VI. Conclusion

The Committee’s investigation over the past several months, started in the wake of the 

Navy Yard shooting, demonstrates that reforms and updates are necessary to ensure that security 

clearances are granted only to qualified individuals who have the ability to safeguard our 

nation’s secrets. The legislative fixes contained in the accompanying legislation must be 

supplemented by common sense practices and reforms at the Office of Personnel Management. 

The Committee looks forward to the continuing cooperation from all the stakeholders—OPM, 

the Department of Defense, other client agencies, and the three contractors—as it works towards 

strengthening this clearance process and improving the safety of confidential information and 

facilities.

 

232

 Qui Tam Complaint , ¶ 29 (July 1, 2011), U.S. ex rel., [Whistleblower] v. U.S. Investigations Services, LLC., 

M.D. Ala. (No. 2:11-CV-527-WKW). 

233 Id. at ¶ 39.

234 Id. at ¶ 44.

235 Id. at ¶ 47. 

236 United States’ Complaint, ¶ 53 (Jan. 22, 2014), U.S. ex rel. [Whistleblower] v. U.S. Investigations Services, LLC, 

M.D. Ala. (No. 11-CV-527-WKW).

237 Id. at ¶ 57.