1 
 
                                                              
                        DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
         DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS 
           
             
 
 
In the matter of: ) 
 ) 
  )  ISCR Case No. 15-08316 
 ) 
Applicant for Security Clearance ) 
 
 
Appearances 
 
For Government: Rhett E. Petcher, Esq., Department Counsel 
For Applicant: William Savarino, Esq.  
 
 
 
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Decision 
______________ 
 
 
GARCIA, Candace Le’i, Administrative Judge: 
 
On October 3, 2016, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a Statement of 
Reasons to Applicant detailing security concerns under Guideline B, foreign influence.1 
Applicant responded to the SOR on November 1, 2016, and requested a hearing before 
an administrative judge. The case was assigned to me on June 2, 2017. The hearing 
was held as scheduled on July 20, 2017. On October 6, 2017, I proposed to the parties 
that this case was appropriate for a summary disposition in Applicant’s favor. 
Department Counsel did not object.  
 
Applicant is a 70-year-old, native-born U.S. citizen who has worked as a facility 
security officer for a defense contractor since 1997. She became the company’s 
president in 2010. She has been married to her husband since 1987. He was born in 
Cote d’Ivoire and is a naturalized U.S. citizen and resident. She has two adult 
stepchildren, both of whom are U.S. citizens and residents.  
                                                          
1 This case is adjudicated under Executive Order (EO) 10865, Safeguarding Classified Information within 
Industry (February 20, 1960), as amended; DOD Directive 5220.6, Defense Industrial Personnel Security 
Clearance Review Program (January 2, 1992), as amended (Directive); and the adjudicative guidelines, 
which became effective on June 8, 2017. 
 
2 
 
In 2010, Applicant’s husband ran for president of the Republic of Guinea 
(Guinea) and lost. He has not since run for any political office in Guinea and has no 
future intentions of doing so. He was not a founder and has never been the head of the 
political party New Generation for the Republic in Guinea. He was approached by its 
members to run as the party’s candidate for president in the 2010 presidential elections, 
which he did. He has not since been involved with this or any other political party in 
Guinea. He also never served as an adviser to the president of Guinea. Neither 
Applicant nor her husband have any family in Guinea.   
 
I considered the totality of Applicant’s ties to Guinea. AG ¶¶ 7(a) through 7(h) 
have not been raised by the evidence. The concerns over Applicant’s ties to Guinea, 
through her husband’s past involvement in Guinean politics, do not create doubt about 
her current reliability, trustworthiness, good judgment, and ability to protect classified 
information. In reaching this conclusion, I weighed the evidence as a whole and 
considered if the favorable evidence outweighed the unfavorable evidence. I also gave 
due consideration to the whole-person concept. Accordingly, I conclude that she met 
her ultimate burden of persuasion to show that it is clearly consistent with the national 
interest to grant her eligibility for access to classified information. This case is decided 
for Applicant.  
 
 
 
________________________ 
Candace Le’i Garcia 
Administrative Judge