The company that cleared CIA employee-turned whistleblower Edward Snowden in a security review is being probed by a federal grand jury. There are suspicions the firm may have blundered Snowden’s background check by cutting corners.
Federal prosecutors and the FBI suspect that US-based firm USIS,
the largest background checks firm working with the US
government, botched a security check on Snowden, the Wall Street
Journal reported.
The contend USIS cut short the vetting process in the 2011
investigation, potentially leaving out crucial details that could
have prevented the security breach that led to the massive
release of US classified data by Snowden in May.
According to the WSJ a grand jury has already filed subpoenas
against several of the company’s employees.
If discrepancies are found in the investigation that they carried
out on Edward Snowden, it could potentially amount to a violation
of the False Claims Act, which punishes persons and companies
that defraud US government programs.
The USIS has said they are fully cooperating with the federal
investigators in their probe and maintain their background check
on Snowden was done correctly.
"With respect to this matter, the company has been cooperating
fully with the government throughout its investigation and
continues to do so," USIS said in a statement. The FBI
refrained from commenting on the affair.
'Flushed through the system’
Of particular interest to the investigation is the practice of
“flushing” whereby the subject of a background check can be
pushed through the system, even if there are worries over the
candidate’s credentials.
Several of the USIS’ ex-employees told WSJ they had been
pressured to “flush” unfinished security checks through
the system.
The USIS deals with a large quantity of security background
checks coming from more than 95 federal agencies. According to
the firm’s site it currently has 100 current contracts with the
Federal services.
The USIS was part of the federal US Office of Personal Management
(OPM), but was privatized in 1996.
Currently around 5 million people currently possess some sort of
government security clearance according to statistics from a 2011
report by the Director of National Intelligence.
Whistleblower Edward Snowden is currently in Russia where he has
been granted temporary asylum by the Russian government. The US
has an extradition order out against him on charges of espionage
for the information on the inner workings of the US secret
services that he leaked to press.
Washington has said they are “disappointed" with Russia’s
decision to grant Snowdon asylum and have said the move may have
a detrimental effect on bilateral relations.