Thanks very much for your very clear explanation of why Trump, who obviously fails the Carla F. Bad test, doesn't want it applied to his potential nominees! In my 85 years, I've never seen the current political situation in our country as scary as it is. And the fact that he even won the election seems incomprehensible. But here we go again with Trump 2.0, so we need to fasten our seatbelts!
Thank you Asha for the expanded explanation. I've seen you reference Carla F. Bad before, but having the detail and examples is super helpful. If these nominees do end up in hearings, it would be great if some of the questions they face are exactly the one Carla would ask. :)
Even though Trump is not having the FBI vet his nominees, could Biden nonetheless ask the FBI to attempt to perform those checks and then make the results available to the Senate?
Thank you, Asha, for always explaining things in a way that lay people like me can understand. It's clear that NOT ONE of his picks would pass this important FBI clearance. So scary but I appreciate being informed.
Wow, Asha. I once had a Secret clearance as an employee of a government contractor but it’s so long ago I don’t remember the process of obtaining it. It wasn’t as onerous as Carla F. Bad (I don’t think) but quite stringent nonetheless. I cannot believe that the FBI can be overlooked in this process. Congress should not act until the proper vetting BY THE FBI is conducted for all potential names put into the ring (and yes that’s a circus analogy).
Thanks for the detailed explanation Asha. After all these years I still remember that SF 86! It did not occur to me that this process could be outsourced but I suspect it is a cost saving strategy for the agencies. But outsourcing the background investigations of Cabinet appointees of the incoming President? I have no more words to say right now except that I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving.
Really interesting. I’m surprised relationship to a religion or a cult isn’t included. A lot of people being looked at are extreme fundamentalists (Amy Coney Barrett was one in the Catholic church) ,Christian Nationalists (Pete Hegseth) or even long time cult members ( Tulsi Gabbard ). Mainstream media gives these associations very little attention too.
I remember when the FBI came to interview my mother about her ex-husband, my father. Mother was bemused, in part because the two agents at her door did not know which wife she was, number one or number two, and in fact did not know of the existence of the actual number two. At the time, dad was on wife number three. The difficulties with the interview included the agents' default biases against the statements of an ex-wife, and the agents' biases against women in general, and mother's difficulty in answering fully, but not completely. Yes, he drank. We both drank. Everybody on this block drinks. But they didn't ask whether when he drank he showed bad judgment like driving (yes) and beating up his children (yes). He got the job anyway. This shows the fundamental bias in the Agency, and the country, at that time, against women.
I remember when I had to do an SF-86. I was trying to transfer from Treasury to Defense. It just meant I would’ve moved up a few floors in the same exact federal building but there was a hitch. Right as I tried to do all that the OPM hack happened. My background check stretched out to nearly two years. I had had two grade promotions in my position at Treasury over that time and would’ve had to take a reduction to take the job at Defense without them even offering offsetting steps.
The SF-86 is quite in-depth. If these nominees can’t get past it then I wouldn’t want them even answering the phones at IRS or DFAS. It is supposed to be a cabinet rather than a rogues gallery.
That’s all well and good, but aren’t you forgetting that the Trump regime *wants* criminals and low lives and traitors to the nation in these positions? Trump is there to fleece us, not to protect and—heaven forbid—to make life better for us.
Thanks very much for your very clear explanation of why Trump, who obviously fails the Carla F. Bad test, doesn't want it applied to his potential nominees! In my 85 years, I've never seen the current political situation in our country as scary as it is. And the fact that he even won the election seems incomprehensible. But here we go again with Trump 2.0, so we need to fasten our seatbelts!
Thank you Asha, we need your intelligence and clear headed reasoning as we head into these challenging times
Thank you Asha for the expanded explanation. I've seen you reference Carla F. Bad before, but having the detail and examples is super helpful. If these nominees do end up in hearings, it would be great if some of the questions they face are exactly the one Carla would ask. :)
Even though Trump is not having the FBI vet his nominees, could Biden nonetheless ask the FBI to attempt to perform those checks and then make the results available to the Senate?
Thank you, Asha, for always explaining things in a way that lay people like me can understand. It's clear that NOT ONE of his picks would pass this important FBI clearance. So scary but I appreciate being informed.
Wow, Asha. I once had a Secret clearance as an employee of a government contractor but it’s so long ago I don’t remember the process of obtaining it. It wasn’t as onerous as Carla F. Bad (I don’t think) but quite stringent nonetheless. I cannot believe that the FBI can be overlooked in this process. Congress should not act until the proper vetting BY THE FBI is conducted for all potential names put into the ring (and yes that’s a circus analogy).
Thanks for the detailed explanation Asha. After all these years I still remember that SF 86! It did not occur to me that this process could be outsourced but I suspect it is a cost saving strategy for the agencies. But outsourcing the background investigations of Cabinet appointees of the incoming President? I have no more words to say right now except that I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving.
Really interesting. I’m surprised relationship to a religion or a cult isn’t included. A lot of people being looked at are extreme fundamentalists (Amy Coney Barrett was one in the Catholic church) ,Christian Nationalists (Pete Hegseth) or even long time cult members ( Tulsi Gabbard ). Mainstream media gives these associations very little attention too.
I remember when the FBI came to interview my mother about her ex-husband, my father. Mother was bemused, in part because the two agents at her door did not know which wife she was, number one or number two, and in fact did not know of the existence of the actual number two. At the time, dad was on wife number three. The difficulties with the interview included the agents' default biases against the statements of an ex-wife, and the agents' biases against women in general, and mother's difficulty in answering fully, but not completely. Yes, he drank. We both drank. Everybody on this block drinks. But they didn't ask whether when he drank he showed bad judgment like driving (yes) and beating up his children (yes). He got the job anyway. This shows the fundamental bias in the Agency, and the country, at that time, against women.
Thank you for pointing this out, Martha! I hope it has been corrected since then, but somehow I suspect it hasn't.
I remember when I had to do an SF-86. I was trying to transfer from Treasury to Defense. It just meant I would’ve moved up a few floors in the same exact federal building but there was a hitch. Right as I tried to do all that the OPM hack happened. My background check stretched out to nearly two years. I had had two grade promotions in my position at Treasury over that time and would’ve had to take a reduction to take the job at Defense without them even offering offsetting steps.
The SF-86 is quite in-depth. If these nominees can’t get past it then I wouldn’t want them even answering the phones at IRS or DFAS. It is supposed to be a cabinet rather than a rogues gallery.
That’s all well and good, but aren’t you forgetting that the Trump regime *wants* criminals and low lives and traitors to the nation in these positions? Trump is there to fleece us, not to protect and—heaven forbid—to make life better for us.
And outsourcing this process to private firms is allowed?
It sounds like it's part of the Senate confirmation process, so unless there's a specific law, it seems they can do whatever they want.
Why the government doesn't codify the FBI background check (or some other entity where lying = perjury) makes no sense to me and is just plain nuts.
It is completely irresponsible to forgo FBI background checks for any member of the Federal Government and anyone that would have access to
Very informative and just adds to the level of disgust.
Trump wouldn't pass that test!