Sheriff Tom Knight denied security clearance by FBI

[Unregistered]

Sheriff Tom Knight is one of only a few Florida Sheriffs to be denied a Government Top Secret Clearance.

It would be interesting to see if Hoffman could get a SSBI, due to his (1) failing a lie detector test and (2) his admission of stealing from multiple employers (and stealing from a retailer and a private citizen too).

Two Questions:

1. What is in Knight's background that caused the FBI to deny him a security clearance?

2. Based on the Florida Sunshine Law, are we allowed to know what is in Knight's background that caused the FBI to deny him a security clearance? Or since it is federal, are we not allowed to know?

[Unregistered]

Based on the Florida Sunshine Law, are we allowed to know what is in Knight's background that caused the FBI to deny him a security clearance? Or since it is federal, are we not allowed to know?

• If Knight submitted federal paperwork "as a private citizen" to get a federal security clearance, then no, you cannot get a copy of it.
  .
• If Knight submitted paperwork "as a Florida sheriff" to get a federal security clearance, then yes, you can get a copy of all paperwork that he completed. All you have to do is submit a public records request to the Sarasota Sheriff's Office (SSO) to get a copy of:
  1. Any and all paperwork that Sheriff Knight completed to apply for a security clearance i.e. background questionnaire, etc.
  2. The official federal decision and results that were returned to the SSO.

[Unregistered]

Two Questions:

1. What is in Knight's background that caused the FBI to deny him a security clearance?

2. Based on the Florida Sunshine Law, are we allowed to know what is in Knight's background that caused the FBI to deny him a security clearance? Or since it is federal, are we not allowed to know?

As to number two, the issue would be with getting the FBI to tell you why they said "no", and in my experience, the FBI seldom shares any info of any kind with other agencies, much less the public. Count on that one staying the source of speculation and mystery.

[Unregistered]

As a fed myself and have done backgrounds I can tell you there are many reasons a person may be denied an TS/SCI I've seen them fail from owing to much money to things that popped up, things that normally wouldn't affect a LEO position but will for a TS/SCI. I wouldn't judge to hard I've seen people denied a secret clearance from the Navy but got a TS/SCI at the WH.

[Unregistered]

As a fed myself and have done backgrounds I can tell you there are many reasons a person may be denied an TS/SCI I've seen them fail from owing to much money to things that popped up, things that normally wouldn't affect a LEO position but will for a TS/SCI. I wouldn't judge to hard I've seen people denied a secret clearance from the Navy but got a TS/SCI at the WH.

Some of us are relieved that Knight is denied access to sensitive material, especially after what he did locally e.g. Knight tried to intentionally destroy the Sarasota school budget (with the help of Eric Robinson). That is a public safety danger to our children (for partisan purposes). Subsequently, the FBI obviously did the right thing by denying Knight a security clearance. However, it begs the observation: Knight is the only Florida sheriff to be denied a federal security clearance. Even Sesame Street recognizes that Knight is different from every other sheriff who IS granted a security clearance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsRjQDrDnY8

[Unregistered]

Sheriff knight is one of only a few Florida Sheriffs to be denied a Government Top Secret Clearance.

Based on the Florida Sunshine Law, are we allowed to know what is in Knight's background that caused the FBI to deny him a security clearance?

That information was not supposed to be released to the public and it is a major SNAFU for Knight. The big question is how Knight would respond "officially" to a public records request that seeks more information about his hidden past. The FBI has access to it but...

[Unregistered]

Knight is like Sarasota's version of Vladimir Putin.