The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a memo on Tuesday stating that the Department of Justice, under President Joe Biden, did not adhere to federal protections when suspending security clearances of whistleblowers. The OIG highlighted that the Justice Department lacks a proper appeals process for employees with suspended clearances, which contradicts a federal regulation revised in 2022. Furthermore, the OIG noted that under Biden’s administration, the DOJ did not offer employees a fair chance to remain employed by the federal government if they suspected that their clearances were suspended in retaliation for engaging in protected whistleblower actions.
“Existing DOJ practice is inconsistent with the intent of the federal statute,” the OIG announced.
In a report dated May 18, 2023, House Republicans leveled allegations against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for engaging in retaliatory actions against FBI special agent Stephen Friend, FBI special agent Garret O’Boyle, and FBI staff operations specialist Marcus Allen. These individuals were targeted for voicing their concerns about the agency. O’Boyle, who was placed on unpaid suspension by the FBI, expressed that this decision rendered his family effectively homeless.
The OIG announced it received complaints from “employees alleging that their security clearances were suspended in retaliation for protected whistleblowing activity.”
Tristan Leavitt, the president of Empower Oversight, representing Allen through his organization, stated on social media that the memo was partially prompted by Allen’s complaint.
According to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), while the Department of Justice (DOJ) provides employees with an appeals channel for revoked security clearances, there is no such avenue for employees whose clearance is suspended pending a final decision on revocation. The OIG identifies this as problematic because the law requires the DOJ to offer a path for whistleblowers to challenge suspensions lasting longer than a year, which may be retaliatory.
The OIG memo highlights that the DOJ’s lack of a mechanism for employees to contest suspensions lasting over a year, if they suspect retaliation, means that the agency fails to meet the legal requirements. The memo further explains that losing security clearance can significantly hinder DOJ employees from performing their job duties, as many positions within the department require clearance. Consequently, these employees not only face suspension of their clearance but are often suspended from their jobs without pay. As per federal law, individuals who believe their security clearance was suspended by the DOJ in retaliation for whistleblowing must, to the extent practical, be allowed to maintain their government employment status during the suspension, according to the OIG.
The OIG also found that the DOJ’s existing policies “creates the risk that the security process could be misused, as part of an inappropriate effort to encourage an employee to resign.”
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Author: RJ_Patriot
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