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I wonder if you could get prosecuted or investigated for things you admit to during the interview. I also wonder if there's any sort of legal privacy requiremen

I wonder if you could get prosecuted or investigated for things you admit to during the interview. I also wonder if there's any sort of legal privacy requirement that stops the examiner or someone else with records access from spreading around information related to your examination. I'd warrant most people have gotten away with doing things that should've gotten them arrested.

mipmap04 7y ago
They do threaten legal action if you lie about something on your SF-86.
- bradknowles 7y ago
  Lying about something on your federal forms would make you vulnerable to blackmail, so that would definitely be something that the investigators would try to turn up. In my case, I was extremely open and honest with the main investigator that I was interviewed by, including the things I did during college with recreational pharmaceuticals. I told all my friends to just "tell the truth" about what they saw happen. I think my biggest benefit there was telling the story about how I saw that kind of stuff tear lives apart, and turn people who had been best friends into worst enemies, and the negative follow-on impacts of what happens when you can't pay your rent, you can't pay your electric bills, etc... because you have this debt to someone else that suddenly must be repaid this afternoon.
  - throwawy123 7y ago
    Since Chinese hackers stole a huge cache of SF-86s, this is somewhat ironic. If you omitted something incriminating from your SF-86, you are, perhaps, safer from blackmail.
lastofus 7y ago
Considering lie detectors are inadmissible in court, probably not. Being the cause of further investigation on the other hand...
throwawy123 7y ago
Yes, you can be prosecuted for things you admit during a polygraph interview. You can also be prosecuted for lying, since the polygraph examiners are federal investigators.
- tdfx 7y ago
  > You can also be prosecuted for lying, since the polygraph examiners are federal investigators. That part is not true. Polygraph examiners are not sworn federal law enforcement officers. But they are happy to refer any of your admissions of guilt to federal law enforcement who may come ask you the same questions. Lying to them is a criminal offense.
  - throwawy123 7y ago
    Certainly not joe shmoe polygraph examiners, but I was under the impression that the NSA examiners are sworn federal law enforcement officers. Now that I say that, though, I can't find a reference to support this.
    - giles_corey 7y ago
      NSA polygraph operators are not law enforcement officers. Lying to them is nonetheless a violation of 18 USC 1001. However, I am not aware of any case where anyone has been criminally prosecuted for lying during an NSA polygraph interrogation.
  - erikpukinskis 7y ago
    Wait, it’s illegal to lie to federal LEOs?
    - pdonis 7y ago
      It's illegal to lie to the Federal Government period: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1001 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1001 More precisely, it's a violation of 18 USC 1001 to lie about "any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States" (with a couple of specific exceptions as given). Technically you don't even have to lie to a Federal official since the statute doesn't specify that; it just has to be a matter "within the jurisdiction" of the Federal government.

mipmap04 7y ago

They do threaten legal action if you lie about something on your SF-86.

bradknowles 7y ago
Lying about something on your federal forms would make you vulnerable to blackmail, so that would definitely be something that the investigators would try to turn up. In my case, I was extremely open and honest with the main investigator that I was interviewed by, including the things I did during college with recreational pharmaceuticals. I told all my friends to just "tell the truth" about what they saw happen. I think my biggest benefit there was telling the story about how I saw that kind of stuff tear lives apart, and turn people who had been best friends into worst enemies, and the negative follow-on impacts of what happens when you can't pay your rent, you can't pay your electric bills, etc... because you have this debt to someone else that suddenly must be repaid this afternoon.
- throwawy123 7y ago
  Since Chinese hackers stole a huge cache of SF-86s, this is somewhat ironic. If you omitted something incriminating from your SF-86, you are, perhaps, safer from blackmail.

lastofus 7y ago

Considering lie detectors are inadmissible in court, probably not. Being the cause of further investigation on the other hand...

throwawy123 7y ago

Yes, you can be prosecuted for things you admit during a polygraph interview. You can also be prosecuted for lying, since the polygraph examiners are federal investigators.

tdfx 7y ago
> You can also be prosecuted for lying, since the polygraph examiners are federal investigators. That part is not true. Polygraph examiners are not sworn federal law enforcement officers. But they are happy to refer any of your admissions of guilt to federal law enforcement who may come ask you the same questions. Lying to them is a criminal offense.
- throwawy123 7y ago
  Certainly not joe shmoe polygraph examiners, but I was under the impression that the NSA examiners are sworn federal law enforcement officers. Now that I say that, though, I can't find a reference to support this.
  - giles_corey 7y ago
    NSA polygraph operators are not law enforcement officers. Lying to them is nonetheless a violation of 18 USC 1001. However, I am not aware of any case where anyone has been criminally prosecuted for lying during an NSA polygraph interrogation.
- erikpukinskis 7y ago
  Wait, it’s illegal to lie to federal LEOs?
  - pdonis 7y ago
    It's illegal to lie to the Federal Government period: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1001 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1001 More precisely, it's a violation of 18 USC 1001 to lie about "any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States" (with a couple of specific exceptions as given). Technically you don't even have to lie to a Federal official since the statute doesn't specify that; it just has to be a matter "within the jurisdiction" of the Federal government.