Did checks failure let whistle-blower slip through the net?
Senate hearing is told that private US company responsible for screening Snowden for security clearance is currently under criminal investigation
The private company responsible for vetting Edward Snowden for a security clearance is under criminal investigation for systemic failure to adequately conduct background checks.
The 29-year-old systems administrator's clearance gave him access to classified documents he later leaked to the media, revealing secret surveillance by the National Security Agency.
"We are limited in what we can say about this investigation because it is an ongoing criminal matter, but it is a reminder that background investigations can have real consequences for our national security," McCaskill said. "Federal agencies, like the Defence Department, rely on these background investigations to make assessments of whether people should be trusted with our nation's most sensitive information. It appears that this trust has been broken."
USIS is the largest commercial provider of background investigations to the federal government. The company said in a statement that USIS had never been informed that it is under criminal investigation, although it did receive a subpoena for records from the inspector general of the Office of Personnel Management in January last year.
"USIS complied with that subpoena and has co-operated fully with the government's civil investigative efforts," the statement said. The company declined to comment on whether it had conducted a background check on Snowden.
Inspector General Patrick McFarland confirmed during the hearing of a Senate Homeland Security subcommittee that an investigation is under way.
