Same Contractor Vetted Snowden and Navy Yard Suspect

The revelation is another blow to US Investigations Services LLC, which is already the subject of a grand jury investigation.

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Aaron Alexis

U.S. Investigations Services LLC, a private firm that contracts with the U.S. military to conduct background investigations for security clearances, has confirmed it was responsible for vetting Aaron Alexis, the man suspected of murdering 12 people in Monday’s Navy Yard shooting, The Wall Street Journal reports. The same firm also did a background investigation for the security clearance of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

USIS is currently under investigation by a grand jury over allegations that it rushed investigations through without proper review, the Journal reports.

The Alexis background check, conducted by USIS in 2007, did reportedly include information on Alexis’ 2004 arrest connected to an “anger-fueled” blackout in which he shot the tires of a car. A federal official quoted by the Journal said he found that “the file was complete and in compliance with all investigative standards” before being handed over to the Department of Defense, which ultimately granted Alexis a security clearance. Other incidents in which Alexis ran afoul of the law occurred after that 2007 investigation.

[The Wall Street Journal]