Kash Patel Let His Stooges Skip Key Step in Getting Security Clearance
Kash Patel allowed a conspiracy theorist radio host to take second place at the FBI without first taking a polygraph test.
Deputy Director Dan Bongino reportedly received a waiver for a polygraph test, according to four people who spoke anonymously with ProPublica Friday.
Typically, polygraph tests are required to establish approval of “Top Secret” security clearances required to work at the agency. Recipients are questioned about their criminal history, drug use, foreign contacts and any mishandling of sensitive documents. Their results are used to determine whether they can have access to classified information.
It appears Bongino hasn’t been questioned about any of this, and yet as deputy director he has access to a wealth of sensitive information, including the President’s Daily Brief, which brings together critical information from the intelligence community. He is also responsible for the day-to-day operations of the FBI and Green Light surveillance operations.
Those familiar with Bongino’s rise to deputy director, when he had no prior experience at the agency, said granting him a waiver was unprecedented. Several former FBI officials told ProPublica they could not recall a single instance where a high-ranking official such as Bongino received a waiver for a polygraph test, or anyone who failed a polygraph test.
Bongino and two other senior officials reportedly received waivers from Patel.
In a statement to ProPublica, FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson said: “It is false that the individuals you referenced failed polygraph tests. »
“The FBI follows all laws and procedures relating to personnel security measures, and any implication to the contrary is false,” Williamson wrote. “Furthermore, while the FBI does not comment on classified security information, particularly personnel matters, this article is riddled with lies: it misrepresents the polygraph protocol, inaccurately describes FBI security measures, and makes numerous false statements about FBI employees who have done nothing wrong. »
The spokesperson also said polygraphs were “not required” for political appointees within the agency. But several experts, including Daniel Meyer, former executive director of the Intelligence Community External Review Committee’s inspector general, and three other national security attorneys, told ProPublica that these Schedule C employees generally would not be excluded from testing.
A former senior FBI official told ProPublica that while the existence of the waiver might suggest Bongino did not pass the polygraph test, it was possible he was granted a preemptive exemption. The outlet could not determine whether Bongino took a polygraph test.
