Note: This article has been updated to include observations about the extreme length of time the FBI background investigation requires, and to include a question in the investigation about historical sexual behavior.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s opponents have made repeated calls for FBI investigations into every new accusation made against him. Christine Ford’s supporters have touted her polygraph test as evidence she is truthful. I’ve undergone an FBI background investigation three times, and can tell you what they can and can’t do.
First and most important, an FBI background investigation takes a very long time: 6 to 18 months.
I have held security clearances at and above the Top Secret level. They included a long list of “alphabet soup” designations. For my Q clearance, I had to undergo a polygraph. It was very different from the test administered to Dr. Ford, as it has been described in the media.
I will save discussion of the polygraph for another article, but what does an FBI background investigation really do? A video circulating on social media shows Senator Joe Biden railing against FBI background checks and ridiculing any of his colleagues who call for them. Judge Kavanaugh’s supporters will be pleased to know that any one of the FBI background checks would have picked up any report of aberrant behavior in his past.
How is an FBI Background Investigation Conducted?
First and most important, an FBI background investigation takes a very long time: 6 to 18 months.
The methodology of the investigation is simple. Let’s assume you are applying for a security clearance, as Judge Kavanaugh was for four of his six background investigations. You begin the process by providing the FBI with Standard Form 86 (SF-86) for national security positions.
The SF-86 is several pages long. It asks for detailed information about you, your family members, your personal history, your work history, any past problems with abuse of drugs or alcohol, past and present debt troubles, and the address of every residence you have ever had. You’ll have to provide the dates, places and purpose of any foreign travel.
You are asked to provide names of people who can verify every data point you give. For example, you will need to name current or prior roommates, coworkers, traveling companions, neighbors, friends, and personal references.
The FBI then takes that information and checks it, meticulously, to confirm that it is true. They also ask people what you are really like. They talk to co-workers and supervisors at every job you have ever had. They reach out to landlords and neighbors and roommates at every address you have ever had; to friends at every period of your life; and to family members.
The Interview Process
During each interview, they ask questions similar to the following: Was he honest? Did she ever express support for American enemies? Did he live within his means? Did she drink to excess? Flout the law? Was she generally of good character? Did he gossip, or can he keep a secret? What can you tell me about her work habits, her lifestyle, her friends and associates? Did he or she have a history of sexual indiscretions or problematic sexual behavior? Do you believe this person can be trusted with a sensitive national security position? Why or why not?
What can you tell me about her work habits, her lifestyle, her friends and associates? Did he or she have a history of sexual indiscretions or problematic sexual behavior?
They will ask each person for the names of other people they can talk to about your character and history. These will include former rivals, enemies, and opponents. You will receive phone calls from people you’ve not seen in 20 years, asking whether you’re in some kind of trouble with the government. (“The FBI were here, asking all kinds of questions about you. Trust me, I didn’t say a word about that bank job in ’97!”)
After interviewing countless people about you, your lead investigator may meet with you again several times to ask follow-up questions. If you forget to list anything, they will discover it and ask you about it. The lead investigator for my first background clearance, when I was in graduate school, told me that he knew me better than anyone else in the world, including my mother. He said, “I know all the things you never told her!”
That investigator set me up on a blind date, by the way, with a young woman whose clearance he also was managing. We enjoyed one another’s company for an evening, but both agreed that he didn’t know us as well as he thought he did.
What Does an FBI Background Investigation Do? What Doesn’t it Do?
The investigation discovers any hint of disloyalty to the country, or of debt, or dishonorable behavior or character traits, or propensity to break the law or the rules. It would have discovered any excessive drinking by Judge Kavanaugh. There would be no chance that allegations of sexual assault or extreme behavior would have been missed.
It would have discovered any excessive drinking by Judge Kavanaugh. There would be no chance that allegations of sexual assault or extreme behavior would have been missed.
Every assertion or allegation about your behavior would be noted and included in the final report. The FBI would not determine the truth or falsity of allegations. They would simply report them, and seek as many witnesses as possible who could confirm or refute any data points they gathered.
This is the point that Judge Kavanaugh’s supporters have made. The FBI would not seek to determine who was telling the truth about what did or didn’t happen at parties in the 1980s. They would just gather statements, and report them. In fact, they would do exactly as the professional investigators at the Senate Judiciary committee have done.
Knowing the capabilities and limitations of the investigation process, it is easy to see why Judge Kavanaugh’s supporters are calling for a vote. They see the calls for new investigations as nothing but attempts to delay his confirmation. I believe they are right. As noted above, the investigation takes many months, because the FBI is meticulous and thorough – they leave no stone unturned. Imagine the difficulty of finding and contacting the dozens of people they would need to talk to, and imagine the difficulty of scheduling meetings with them, and in some cases persuading them to talk. The whole purpose of calling for a new investigation, that would only go over the same ground as all the former ones, is to delay the confirmation by at least a year.
It is time to confirm Judge Kavanaugh, and leave the FBI to investigate terrorism, espionage, and crime.
