Judgment, candor questions led to Sanford security suspension

After Gov. Mark Sanford admitted leaving the country for a secret tryst in Argentina, the Department of Homeland Security suspended the governor’s security clearance because of questions raised about his “lack of candor” and “trustworthiness” to protect classified information, federal documents show.

Homeland Security officials reinstated his clearance a week later, saying the suspension was a mistake by a lower-level employee. But documents obtained by The Post and Courier through the U.S. Freedom of Information Act suggest high-level supervisors were involved.

In a certified letter to Sanford dated July 1, Katherine Janosek, chief of the DHS Personnel Security Division, wrote that the “Office of Security has suspended your access to classified information” with the agency.

She explained that the “suspension is based on recent actions and statements by you that raise questions about your judgment, lack of candor, reliability, trustworthiness and ability to protect classified information.”

Janosek also sent a memo to Maj. Scott W. Prill, the State Law Enforcement Division’s Homeland Security director, advising him of the security clearance suspension.

“This action was taken due to recently reported information to this office,” the memo said. “... Please ensure that Governor Sanford does not have access to any classified information until further notice.”

A week later, Janosek wrote back to the governor and SLED that his clearance had been reinstated, adding that “the suspension of your clearance was made in error.”

Among the documents received in response to The Post and Courier’s open records request was a partially blacked out copy of a news story about Sanford’s emotional confession that he secretly flew to Argentina to visit a woman with whom he was having an affair.

Earlier this summer, Sara Kuban, DHS press secretary, told The Post and Courier, that a DHS employee was operating without consulting anyone else in restricting Sanford’s security clearance, and that “as soon as senior DHS officials learned that it occurred, it was immediately rectified.” At the time, officials with Homeland Security and the governor’s office declined to say whether the suspension was related to Sanford’s affair and secret trip to South America.

Officials with Sanford’s office had no immediate comment Wednesday. In July, Sanford’s press secretary said the suspension had no effect on the governor’s ability to perform his duties.

Military officials decided against changing Sanford’s status after the affair came to light. Sanford is a captain in the Air Force Reserve, and under military law, adultery can be prosecuted under Article 134, which involves behavior that “reflects adversely on the service record of the military member.”

Military lawyers and Air Force Reserve commanders studied the issue and decided not to pursue any legal or administrative punishment actions, said Cliff Tyler, a spokesman for the headquarters of the Air Force Reserve Command at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia.

“The Air Force Reserve Command hasn’t initiated any disciplinary actions and has no plans to do so,” Tyler said.

Reach Tony Bartelme at 937-5554 or tbartelme@postandcourier.com.