A US citizen who happens to have close ties to the “dictator” of a “dictatorship state” was recently denied top-secret security clearance by the Pentagon because of his family ties, documents reveal.
The applicant, described as a woman in her 30s who works for a defense contractor, appealed the permit denial to the Department of Defense’s Office of Hearings and Appeals in January, citing concerns that she could be subject to foreign law violations. For that reason, the request was dismissed by the administrative judge. influence.
of women’s case file It has not revealed her name, the identity of the dictator, or the name of the country he rules.
The abnormal situation was the first CNN reported.
Facts suggest that the woman’s “close relative” is North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
“The applicant has a close relative who is the dictator of Country X, an authoritarian state,” Administrative Judge Edward Laurent said in the ruling.
He added: “It is hostile to the United States and has a very poor human rights record.” “Supporting international terrorism and conducting cyberattacks and espionage against the United States.”
“That connection creates potential conflicts of interest and increases the risk of foreign exploitation, inducement, manipulation, pressure and coercion.”
The State Department has designated only four countries as state sponsors of terrorism: North Korea, Cuba, Iran, and Syria.
Of these four, North Korea and Iran are classified as nation-state cyber attackers by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Further evidence to suggest that “Country X” is North Korea comes from the Hermit Kingdom. A globally condemned human rights record Initiatives with retaliate against Exile.
According to documents, the woman immigrated to the United States with her immediate family in the 1990s when she was young.
They all became US citizens and she is now married to a US-born citizen.
This woman currently held classified information, but was trying to elevate it to top secret status.
washington post reported in 2016 Kim Jong-un’s aunt and her three children fled North Korea in 1998 and settled in the United States.
“None of her immediate family members have returned to Country X or maintained contact with family members in Country X,” the document states.
“Country X considers people who leave their country to be traitors and has taken retaliatory measures against some of them.” “The applicant’s parents changed their and their children’s names when they came to the United States.”
“Few people outside of the applicant’s immediate family know that she is related to the head of state of country X.”
Laurent noted that security clearance applicants with relatives in hostile countries already have to overcome a “very heavy burden” to prove they are immune to foreign influence.
But in this woman’s case, “it is not just the country that is hostile to the United States; the applicant’s family is also hostile to the United States,” Laurent wrote.
The judge described the woman’s case as a “difficult” one, saying: “Apart from her family ties to the dictator, she is the perfect candidate for a security check.”
“The applicants are intelligent, honest, loyal to the United States, exemplary employees, and current permit holders with no evidence of security concerns,” he wrote, but the final to foreign dictators who she deemed unable to overcome the security concerns posed by her connections.
The Pentagon did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
