Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck attorneys Steven Lieberman and Bradford Frese recently obtained a reversal of a decision of the Department of Defense refusing to grant a Washington, D.C.-based intelligence analyst a security clearance. The denial of the security clearance was based principally on the analyst’s purported contacts with the State of Israel. Messrs Lieberman and Frese represented the analyst in a trial before Administrative Law Judge Carol J. Ricciardello of the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals.

In her written recommendation to the Personnel Security Appeals Board, Judge Ricciardello stated that “the evidence presented [in the Statement of Reasons denying the individual his security clearance] was vague, incorrect, and in some instances unsubstantiated,” and that “the record leaves me with no questions about [the individual’s] eligibility and suitability for a Security Clearance.” As a result of the trial record and Judge Ricciardello’s recommendation, the Department of Defense’s initial denial of a security clearance was overturned by the Personnel Security Appeals Board and the individual was granted his security clearance.