A vast amount of the public and even the media is ignorant of "need to know". They only rely on the disinformation they are fed.
The first sentance is FALSE.
When a person leaves a classified position, their ACCESS is terminated but not their CLEARANCE. The CLEARANCE remains in place for 2 years. This is by design as the effort to get someone cleared is very costly. Thus the 2 years allows the government to rehire the person prior to the end of the 2 years and only have to conduct a minimal investigation. Once the 2 years is up, and if no other renewal based on a job is submitted, that clearance becomes “inactive”
“inactive” is a designation that says essentially, the person is trustworthy but does not have a need.
“suspended” is a derogatory that usually means something funny is going on, and they are suspected of a breach. Access is no longer granted and the suspension must be cleared before proceeding,.
“revoked” is a VERY derogatory action and is rarely reversed. It means that the administration has found that individual to be in violation of procedure and MAY be in violation of law.
Do any Bush officials still retain clearance?
Condoleezza Rice?
Those holding Security Clearance seem to be holding them for life. It seems as though when issued it is permanent until a case is made(bogus or true) they are no longer deserving.
Why would an individual with FBI connections, holding onto Security Clearance even though no longer working for FBI feel the need to keep out of legal financial misadventures for fear of losing the perk. What would it matter? True story of one known individual.
Funny how those of us that have had SCI level clearences (and some others) had to 1) be assigned and WORKING IN a slot which required them, and 2) had those clearances removed when we changed jobs or retired.
And, just as a jab at the bimbo Hillary, we KNEW what the rules were - she obviously gets a by because she is a crook, stupid, dishonest, and repulsive...but a Democrat.
Why do idiots such as this creep still have a clearance? Hell, he wouldn’t even qualify to work on some of the projects I was involved with because he just does not have the education and qualifications to even spell the stuff we were doing.
I’m sick and tired of political marshmallows who got As in do nothing courses getting choice government jobs and then getting to get on tv and act as if they actually have an IQ greater than two digits.
I disagree with this guys whole article. There is a difference between having a ‘clearance’ and having ‘access’.
Clearances go with the individual and can be renewed for potential work (at cost) on a scheduled basis. They are basically the screening tool.
Access is based on your CURRENT role and should be immediately withdrawn upon leaving office/role. Access is then added for any new role that you may take - provided your Clearance is the appropriate level. Access is based on A NEED TO KNOW.
Clearances are usually only pulled when someone demonstrates a lack of due diligence or improper conduct for the level they have. Access is immediately withdrawn from personnel without a clearance.
A clearance, no matter the level, does not give you access. You have to have the clearance and THE NEED TO KNOW. Once you’ve left any position, your need to know stops immediately. I don’t understand why allow this.
I agree with all of the above comments.I once held a SCI level and they watch those like hawks. Once the work is done ALL access goes away.
Who was the Clinton guy who got caught stealing documents? Wasn’t that after he left his government post?
No security clearance needed for spam and clickbait.
There are three types of statuses for a security clearance.
Active – Present job requires use of a security clearance.
Current – Had a job in the past two years that required use of a clearance.
Expired – More than two years since that person had a job that required a clearance.
https://militarybenefits.info/security-clearance-jobs-after-the-military/
One of the reasons the “clearance” lingers but the access expires is because it is expensive and time-consuming to perform a clearance. I had a Q clearance more than 25 years ago. It required several months to clear. However, if I had already passed a clearance within the previous few years (I don’t remember how many) I could have gotten my Q clearance much more quickly. So the “clearance” stays with you for a while, to save time and money. That is, the fact that I had been cleared, stayed with me for a while, but I did not retain my Q clearance after my employment finished. And, as many have said, clearance was always on a need to know.
Every time you change position to a position that does not require a clearance it should be rescinded. But because DC is a town where when you leave government service it is only temporary there was an unofficial policy that your clearance would not be pulled unless it was absolutely necessary.
That way they would not have to go though all the process when, not if but when, you were moved back into a position of power.