Guideline E: Personal Conduct
Guideline E personal conduct concerns are among the most frequently cited in security clearance denial and revocation cases. The guideline is concerned with behavior indicating a lack of honesty or trustworthiness and the inability to follow rules and regulations. Personal conduct concerns are among the most difficult to mitigate due to the breach of trust or lack of honesty they often involve. Hiring an experienced Guideline E security clearance attorney can help you begin to rebuild that trust with the federal government.
Honesty Concerns
The bedrock of the clearance process is honesty. The government must be able to trust that an applicant or current clearance holder is providing truthful and candid answers to questions relevant to their ability to safeguard national security. Evidence that an applicant is giving false or misleading information during the security clearance process, that will almost always be fatal to a favorable determination. This most often arises with dishonest or undisclosed information on the personnel security questionnaire or while speaking to an investigator. There is a difference between honestly omitting information or getting a piece of information wrong and purposely hiding or lying on the forms or to an investigator. Context, as always, will help adjudicators determine which category the information falls into, but even the question of dishonesty is an incredibly serious issue during the clearance process. Additionally, while you can refuse to answer questions during an investigation, especially if it involves criminal concerns, remember that you have no right to a security clearance, and a refusal to cooperate is grounds for termination of the process and a denial of a clearance.
Contact us for help
Aenean leo ligula, porttitor eu, consequat vitae, eletteifend ac, enim. Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus. Phasellus viverra nulla ut metus varius laoreet.
Rule Violations
Violation of rules and regulations, especially where a pattern of such violations exists, is often cited under Guideline E.
Catch-All Provision
- Guideline E is often cited where adverse information under other multiple other guidelines is insufficient by itself for a denial or revocation, or where the behavior is not explicitly covered under other guidelines, but where the entire picture of the person’s behavior creates a concern, especially where there is a pattern of inappropriate behavior.
- Examples include repeated policy violations or disruptive behavior at work that may not rise to the level of criminal conduct. Any conduct involving questionable judgment can begin to create doubt and lead to a personal conduct concern.
Mitigating Personal Conduct Concerns
Mitigating concerns about honesty and the ability to follow rules and regulations can be particularly difficult. Correcting errors, intentional or otherwise, immediately, and demonstrating a change in behavior often provides a path towards mitigation.
- Passage of time
- Time can be an effective mitigation tool for nearly all adjudicative guideline concerns, assuming the concerning behavior does not repeat itself.
- Prompt disclosure
- As soon as you realize you provided incorrect information on a form to an investigator, reach out to your point of contact to correct it. Disclosing an error or derogatory information prior to being confronted with it will always look better than waiting to be caught.
- Relying on improper or inadequate advice
- If you were told by a lawyer, doctor, CPA, or other professional to disclose something that was incorrect or not to disclose something (often seen when criminal defense attorneys with no experience in security clearance matters are advising clients), that would mitigate concerns.
- Minor or infrequent behavior
- If the behavior in question was minor, infrequent, or occurred long ago, it may not cast doubt on the applicant’s judgment or credibility
- Where the personal conduct concern occurred under such unique circumstances that would indicate the situation would not repeat itself, this can also assist in mitigation.
- Positive behavioral interventions
- Depending on the source of the personal conduct concern, addressing it with counseling and a changed environment can mitigate the concern. This is especially true where there is a pattern of concerning behavior over a longer period of time.
- Ending association with persons involved in criminal, dishonest, or unreliable behavior can show changed circumstances and a lower likelihood of repeated bad behavior.
Hire an Experienced Lawyer to Mitigate Personal Conduct Concerns
Any behavior that calls into question your honesty, credibility, or trustworthiness can be fatal to your clearance chances. Mitigating concerns under Guideline E requires experience with adjudications and mitigating factors. You will need to marshal compelling evidence to remedy any lack of trust. Getting experienced legal counsel is the first step. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation to discuss your concerns.
