A former government scientist has been arrested and charged with attempted espionage. Stewart David Nozette was arrested in October 2009 for violating his top security clearance by allegedly disclosing classified information to an FBI agent dressed as an Israeli intelligence agent. According to reports, Nozette attempted to give up the information in exchange for $11,000.
Nozette allegedly worked for the White House’s National Space Council from 1989 to 1990. For the next nine years, he worked for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s “Advanced Concepts Group,” which required him to obtain a top security clearance. He then ran a company that worked closely with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory.
(Source: American Association for the Advancement of Science)
High national security clearance involves in-depth evaluations and background checks. Persons who fall into the gray area in which they do not pass with 100 percent certainty are denied. Violating a top security clearance is a severe crime that can result in harsh penalties.
For more information, or if you have a legal matter than involves national security clearance, contact The Edmunds Law Firm today.