DHS–Domestic Terrorism
Annex
Washington, DC
January 12, 2018
After the morning meeting, Meg knocked on Dan’s open office door. “Have you got a few minutes, Dan? I’ve got some initial findings on the Task Force that I think we need to talk about.”
“Sure, Meg, come on in,” motioning to her to close the door. Dan walked around his desk and the two sat down at the small round conference table. Meg pushed the team roster in front of Dan so he could see where she’d highlighted several names.
“Based on my review and database searches so far, we’ve got the agencies’ “A” players. Most are long time government employees, so there are few questions about their loyalty or allegiance. Some of these people have access to information that only a handful of people are cleared to see, mostly having to do with nuclear readiness and release authority. Those I’ve highlighted in green. I looked at the team from two angles: their history in government and their professional reputation. I realize that the reputation piece is much more subjective, but we don’t want to find out downstream that our reliance just on the official personnel files blinded us to something we should have known. That said, I do have some questions on two individuals that I’ve highlighted in yellow. Specifically: my boss, David Kline and Robert Lang, from Double Eagle.”
“Wait a second. I knew you didn’t like your boss after my first trip down to Quantico, but the guy’s been nominated by the Director, and it’s helpful to have this level of horsepower on the Task Force. He mentioned Sandy Matthews too.”
“Look, there’s nothing personal driving my concern. Just hear me out, OK?” Dan nodded in agreement.
“David joined the FBI five years ago from a Silicon Valley software firm that developed a biometric package for DHS. He managed a group responsible for getting the package accredited by the government. The systems were supposedly fool-proof. However, there were a number of critical breaches into sensitive databases during the initial six-month start-up.”
Dan interrupted, “But don’t we generally find software glitches in most all systems during roll-out?”
“Yes, that’s fairly common across programs. And, according to my sources, the government usually short-changes the testing regimen or runs out of funding, and the contractors replan the effort, cutting corners and kicking the can down the road. In this case, all the breaches were investigated but a true root cause was never determined. David’s role made him a party to the investigation, but no evidence of wrong-doing or negligence ever got documented. I found one snippet that was scanned on a cover page that noted:
“D.K. seemed evasive when responding to the breeches, never admitting that the cause could have been tied to his company’s biometric product.”
Meg paused to collect her thoughts and then picked up the thread. “What makes me suspicious is that many of the investigative interviews were somehow expunged from the record. His clearance was suspended during the investigation which is the standard protocol. But then there’s an unexplained excursion from the process: somehow his clearance was re-instated through an administrative action, rather than the usual process of re-applying and going through a new background investigation. That takes time and I understand that delays may impact a program. There’s one other thing. Between the time he left the software company and joined the Bureau, there’s a period of eight months where he claimed that he was caring for a sick family member. The problem is that he was adopted, never married and had no family. The personal history chronology that he submitted as part of his background investigation revealed no family at all.”
Meg paused to see if Dan was following the story.
“So he pulled some strings and got someone to waive the process,” replied Dan. “That happens too often in my view, but there must have been some rationale for fast-tracking the reinstatement. The stuff about his family is troubling but that’s something for HR to look at. I think that the files you’ve collected may not include the documents you’d need to confirm any personal wrongdoing. Maybe he’s got a significant other that he wants to keep in the closet? Plus you don’t like him, right?”
“That’s true but these are just the facts that you asked me to pull together,” replied Meg defensively. Dan could see that he’d hit a raw nerve by making a crude reference to Kline’s sexual orientation and most important, calling her objectivity into question.
Dan tried to recover and get back on track, “Is there anything in his FBI jacket that raises questions about his loyalty or motivation?”
“No,” said Meg, “He’s clean. But I still don’t trust him. He’s always asking questions and wanting to know about the evidence that I’ve been collecting. There’s something about him that just doesn’t seem genuine.”
“So what can we do? It’s a weak argument, and I don’t think there’s enough here to ask for him to be removed from the Task Force. But let me talk to Sandy. He may have other insights into David or ideas on how to move him. I trust your instincts and promise to run this to ground. Just be prepared to continue to work with him. Now, what about the other guy, Robert Lang? My first impression is positive…seems like a good guy to me, at least for a contractor.”
“In Lang’s case, there’s just not much there. And by the way, he goes by Jack. Foster child that bounced around a lot. He’s been working for Double Eagle since he graduated from Columbia with a degree in Economics. Nothing out of the ordinary at Columbia. Bs and Cs and no academic awards. Kind of a loner with no affiliations or extra-curricular activities. Lived in an apartment off-campus. At the company, it appears that he’s more a business development guy and “front” man for the company. His track record is pretty thin. He’s never been a program manager and just has a “meeting” friendship with the DHS Staff. Double Eagle has trotted him out a number of times for Award Fee presentations, and he’s always got an amazing grasp of the facts. He’s very steady and likeable. I’m told that one of the government managers changed his award fee evaluation during a presentation because of Jack’s explanation of a late delivery. He is particularly even-handed in discussing the company’s performance and presents objective evidence to support their self-assessments. There’s less public data out there on them than I expected. It’s a large, privately held firm that specializes in supply chain and security services. Most of the folks here at DHS speak very highly of them…professional, responsive, know the rules and follow them and perform at a level above the competition. ”
“So what’s wrong with him?” asked Dan.
“Well, the only thing that bothers me is that he lives in the fast lane. Lots of foreign travel, frequent vacations and multiple female contacts. He seems to live well above his W2 and that’s the red flag. Bank records are in synch with his wages, and there are no known investments or other income to support his lifestyle.”
“Maybe the women are paying the freight,” Dan offered, knowing that Meg would quickly find a hole in his response.
“No, I’ve checked them out too. None of them has the means to support someone else living the high life. They may look and act the part but can’t afford it.”
“OK, Meg. I’ve got it. Seems like we’ve got a squeaky clean group with the exception of the two that you’ve found. But I just don’t see anything here that rises to the level that I’d need to make the case for removal. Maybe Sandy can get David quietly re-assigned based on some higher FBI priority and the fact that you are so ably representing the Bureau. I think we’ll have to keep Lang. He’s one of the only cleared contractors, and Double Eagle is already so deeply embedded in the Department that that in itself could prove problematic. Just because the guy has a way with the ladies does not disqualify him. We’ll just have to see if anything else turns up. I can tell you that this former Navy Lieutenant did not have the means to even think about the high life let alone live it.”
The next day, Dan thanked David for his contributions and announced to the team that he would be leaving the Task Force for a higher priority “Special” assignment within the Bureau. Ten minutes later, Spence learned that one of his insiders was now on the outside.