A white supremeicist with security clearance-what could possibly be wrong with that?

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

There's Trump's America for you. Why should taking part in hate group marches deny you security clearance, right? I mean who here among us hasn't dabbled in violence and hatred when we're not working on sensitive government projects. Apparently Northrup Grumman is just fine with his after work activities.

He Is a Member of a Violent White Supremacist Group. So Why Is He Working for a Defense Contractor With a Security Clearance?

There likely isn’t such a thing as a “typical” violent white extremist in America in 2018. Still, Michael Miselis — a University of California, Los Angeles doctoral student with a U.S. government security clearance to work on sensitive research for a prominent defense contractor — makes for a pretty unusual case.

For months, ProPublica and Frontline have been working to identify the white supremacists at the center of violent demonstrations across the country, including the infamous Unite the Right rally last August in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Rise Above Movement, a Southern California group that expresses contempt for Muslims, Jews, and immigrants, became a focus of that effort. ProPublica and Frontline were able to quickly identify a number of the group’s leaders, and find evidence that put them in the middle of violence in Charlottesville and Berkeley, California, among other places.

Read the rest here: https://www.propublica.org/article/michael-miselis-rise-above-movement-white-supremacist-group-northrop-grumman

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. K&FuckingR!

[heaven05]

2. I am flying my flag

UPSIDE DOWN......

[Laxman]

3. What A Chilling Article....

apparently they have this guy on tape participating in violence in California and in Charlottesville. He spends his spare time with violent convicted felons. His co-workers and Northrup Grumman are aware of his activities. It looks like they're O.K. with it. Wow. Pro Publica and Frontline have been busy identifying these guys-to what result....we shall see.

[bronxiteforever]

4. Kick and recommend for visibility of this evil.

Northrop needs a subpoena and a massive punitive fine.

[catbyte]

5. Just when I think things can't get any worse...

they do.

[ck4829]

6. K&R

[appalachiablue]

7. No words except sanctioning..

K & R

[FakeNoose]

8. Edward Snowden worked for gov't contractor with highest security clearance

How did that work out?

[democrank]

9. Kick

[IronLionZion]

10. It's a lot more common than DUers may think

Contracting firms are so focused on blocking out born and raised US citizens with brown skin like me (for national security reasons ) that they often turn a blind eye to violent white terrorists, since the leadership might quietly agree with white supremacy as part of the company culture.

Racial segregation is commonplace for many government IT services contractors where American minorities are assigned to projects with H-1Bs on high volume low profit career-ending garbage and whites get pipelined for the clearance projects straight out of college.

Many of these assholes were saying openly racist things and threatening their minority coworkers with impunity years before Trump ever ran for politics.

Even on DU, some of our fellow DUers have made the argument that white supremacists are still loyal to America but Indian-Americans might secretly be loyal to India (allied to US) so we can't risk it. Some liberals are worse for my heart than fast food.

[ck4829]

13. That's disturbing, wow.

[IronLionZion]

15. You'd be surprised how many Eastern European immigrants have clearances

as in they grew up in the Soviet Union and still have thick accents.

[Lee-Lee]

21. There can be many reasons for what you posted- not all racism

I do this for a living.

Remember, contractors don’t issue clearances, don’t establish the process for getting them and don’t set the rules. They have to just supply people who can qualify for the cleanrace.

And it’s in their interest to sponsor people for clearances who are most likely to get a fast approval- because if you hire someone and their clearance ends up denied you just wasted a ton of time and money, and if you hire someone whose clearance takes twice or three times as long to adjudicate that means you lose money.

So if a person has significant foreign ties- close family overseas, owns land overseas, travels often to visit people overseas, that can take a whole lot longer for OPM to investigate and adjudicate if the cleanrace is approved, and that’s if.

I am talking about the difference between a person with no issues on an SF-86 who has zero foreign contacts or travel, good credit, no criminal history in today’s backlog can get a clearance in 6-9 months at fastest (I’ve seen it 4 months in the past but not these days). If you add to that someone with significant family ties overseas and foreign contacts, travels, etc that will take it well over a year and I’ve seen it go over 2 years. Same if the person had a criminal history or bad credit or anything else that requires deeper investigation.

Is it fair? No. But that is how it works.

So employers are already hamstrung. They have to invest time and money into sponsorship of a cleanrace. If you get rejected that money is lost. They have to wait for it to come back to employ you in that job- so either they have to find busy work for you in the meantime to put you on the payroll or they have to gamble you won’t change you mind about accepting the job, and the longer it takes the more likely you are to change your mind. And every day longer it takes is a day longer they don’t have anyone doing the job they need someone to do.

In my job I prescreen all our applicants to see if there are any issues that would prohibit a security clearance or delay one. If I find issues that would give a high chance of it being denied I recommend we don’t hire. If I see issues that would indicate a delay I pass that on, and they determine based on the pool of applicants and the individual and how badly the position must be filled if they want to wait for the longer adjudication. If the person is worth the extra wait and risk we do. If there is a well enough qualified applicant we know we can have on the job months faster, often they get it.

It’s not so much about your loyalty, it’s about how fast or slow your clearance is likely to be approved from the employers perspective.

[IronLionZion]

22. Nevertheless, I persisted

Changing companies was the only way for me. It's very interesting to work for a massive defense contractor for several years and hear increasingly creative excuses before I have no other choice but to send resumes to competitors. Even I was surprised by how fast I got my clearance.

[keithbvadu2]

11. Jared K finally got his security clearance so he could sell more secrets.

[EricJohnson]

14. And his father in law has access to nuclear weapons.

[blogslut]

12. up to the top

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

16. I just noticed the guy is wearing a Go-Pro!

What does he do, go home and watch video of himself beating up women and shouting racist slogans?

[ck4829]

17. I guess it's because NOT-psycho people have porn

This is what he does instead.

[Lee-Lee]

18. Odds are his access to classified information is suspended now pending review

Once his security manager became aware they would have to suspend his access to classified information and forward that information to OPM.

OPM will have to investigate. Part of the determination will have to be if the organization is a hate group. That seems to be a no-brainer, but that official determination takes time and this is a new group. However his participation in the violence alone can be enough to revoke his clearance if it’s determined to be him. OPM will have the ability to look into his records and see if he traveled there once they open an investigation.

Almost certainly his clearance will be suspended and placed in inactive status by OPM pending the investigation (the employer suspends access to classified information but can’t suspend the clearance, OPM issues them and they do that). Once the investigation is done the cleanrace will be revoked, and at that time if he wishes he can appeal the revocation before an administrative law judge.

[ailsagirl]

20. Just look at those neanderthals!!!!!!!!!!!!

So hateful

[gay texan]

23. People have been posting this article to their Facebook. N/t

[keithbvadu2]

24. What is that weird helmet on the guy diagonally in front of him?

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

25. Star Wars playset?

Maybe he's making believe he's flying the Millennium Falcon? Maybe GI Joe?

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

27. Tactical helmet

The front mount is for NVG, the side rails for IR, cameras, lights, etc. Probably a cheaper ABS version instead of a true ballistic helmet.

[keithbvadu2]

28. So, on him it is a toy.

[Johnny2X2X]

26. Trump is a White Supremacist

The Oval Office is occupied by a flat out Neo Nazi.