Why did Homeland Security investigators approve former spokesman Brian Doyle's Top Secret clearance, despite his prior trouble with pornography? Because they didn't interview the confessed pedophile's former employers, according to a new report:

. . . sources [at TIME magazine, Doyle's former employer] tell Newsweek two of Doyle's former supervisors weren't contacted by government investigators, who conducted a 'full field' background check on Doyle two years ago in connection with the 'top secret' security clearance he needed for Homeland headquarters.

Two points to Newsweek for getting Doyle's mug shot on their own.

Earlier this week, Justin wrote about the national security concerns raised by the recent arrest of Brian Doyle, deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, on charges of trying to seduce a child.

The guy had a national security clearance. In order to get that, candidates are supposed to undergo an incredibly extensive background check. Why? Because among other things, investigators want to make sure that they don't have secrets that would make them vulnerable to blackmail.

Apparently they didn't dig too deep. From CNN:

Friends and former co-workers say Doyle was disciplined by Time magazine [where Doyle worked before leaving for DHS] after he allegedly used company computers to view adult pornography in the publication's Washington bureau office....

Doyle received a formal warning and was required to undergo mental health counseling before returning to work, the sources said.

Apparently this revelation is what prompted Rep. Peter King (R-NY) to schedule a hearing to scrutinize DHS's hiring practices.

I've written more about sex predators in the last 24 hours than I ever wanted to in a lifetime. And really, the story of Homeland Security spokesman Brian Doyle's arrest two nights ago seems more like a personal tragedy than a political problem. But there's an unexamined angle to it that bears a closer take.

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) mentioned it when he announced that his Homeland Security committee would hold a hearing on hiring and security checks at DHS, prompted by Doyle's arrest: the issue isn't just that pedophiles shouldn't work in government because they're pathological and creepy. They are an inherent risk to the vast apparatus of classification and secrecy that is supposed to protect our national security.

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Following the arrest of a Homeland Security Department spokesman for soliciting sex from a minor, the House Homeland Security Committee will take a closer look at how DHS hires and screens its employees.

Oh, my goodness.

As I noted earlier, a senior Homeland Security Department law enforcement agent was busted last October for exposing himself to a girl in the food court of a mall.

Next to the recent arrest of DHS spokesman Brian Doyle on child sex charges, this was just one more reason to take Operation Predator away from DHS, I said. "Predator" is the agency's program to bust child sex criminals.

Now we discover -- that law enforcement agent, Frank Figueroa, used to run Operation Predator.

The victim, a 16-year-old girl, said Figueroa pulled up a leg of his shorts, exposed himself and masturbated for about 10 minutes, according to the Tampa Tribune.

Figueroa was in court this morning; he pleaded no contest to charges of exposure of sexual organs and disorderly conduct He had formerly said he was not guilty. His trial is expected to begin tomorrow.

Deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security Brian Doyle, shortly after being arrested on charges of seducing a child, courtesy of the Montogomery County Police Department...

Another reason DHS shouldn't be allowed to chase child predators -- from the Tampa Tribune's coverage of the Doyle kiddie sex bust:

The charges against Doyle are the second involving a Homeland Security official and alleged improper sexual conduct toward a minor in Central Florida in the past six months.

In October, Tampa's newly appointed Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent in charge, Frank Figueroa, was arrested in an Orlando shopping mall, accused of exposing himself to a teenage girl.

Figueroa is scheduled to appear in court this morning to enter a guilty plea in that case.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- ICE -- is the branch of DHS that runs the agency's anti-child-exploitation program, Operation Predator I mentioned below.

By the way, Doyle is said to have confessed to police. He's charged with seven counts of use of a computer to seduce a child and 16 counts of transmission of harmful material to a minor.

That's right, someone's keeping track. And after last night's bust by Florida cops of a Homeland Security official for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old, we're adding "catching child sex criminals" to that list.

You see, since creating the program three years ago, DHS has actually held up its anti-child-pornography "Operation Predator" as one of its finest accomplishments. From DHS' July 2003 announcement of the initiative:

"Operation Predator integrates the Department's authorities to target those who exploit children," said Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. "The Department of Homeland Security is coordinating the Department's once-fragmented investigative and intelligence resources into a united campaign against child predators."

...
"There is nothing more important than protecting our children - the future of our nation. Through Operation Predator, ICE is in a unique position to carry out this critical responsibility," said Michael J. Garcia, Acting Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

So: if this guy, Brian Doyle, the accused child sex solicitor, is in fact guilty, he was right there under their noses the whole time. According to the Florida sheriff's office, he was even using DHS phones in his efforts.

DHS uses "the full spectrum of cyber, intelligence, investigative, and detention & removal functions" to catch these child exploiters, the agency has claimed. But it took a county sheriff in Florida to bust Doyle. (I called DHS; they confirmed they played no part in the operation.) Does someone lose their job over this? (I mean, besides Doyle.)

The arrest of Homeland Security press official Brian J. Doyle on child sex charges isn't the first incident of its kind in recent days.

Last week, federal agents raided NASA headquarters and siezed computers, CDs and other materials from the office of James Robinson, a program executive with NASA's In-Space Propulsion, Mission and Systems Management Division. Robinson was accused of trading child pornography online using his work computer. As the Smoking Gun Web site reported:

In correspondence with a series of undercover agents, he described his preferences as, "probably priority right now would be boy-on-boy or boy-with-Man, and girl-on-girl. But really, anything is of interest."

Tampa Tribune reports:

A Department of Homeland Security deputy press secretary was arrested this evening on charges that he was using a computer to seduce a child.

Brian Doyle, 55, was arrested at 7:45 p.m. in his Silver Springs, Maryland home on 23 charges related to the use of a computer to seduce a child and transmitting harmful materials to a minor after a joint investigation by the Polk County Sheriff's office, Florida State Attorney Jerry Hill's office and the Department of Homeland Security.