The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) dropped its investigation into employees who administered a polygraph test taken by the agency’s former acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala.
An investigation into six CISA officials was opened after Gottumukkala allegedly failed a polygraph test administered after he requested access to highly sensitive cyber intelligence information. The incident was first covered by Politico.
Gottumukkala sought to suspend those six officials on the premise that the test wasn’t necessary, according to Politico reporting. He also reportedly attempted to fire Robert Costello, CISA’s now former chief information officer. When testifying before Congress in January, Gottumukkala did not confirm or deny that he attempted to oust Costello.
According to various Democratic lawmakers and Politico, CISA dropped the investigation into the CISA officials and cleared them. They had been placed on administrative leave up until recently.
“We are pleased that the CISA personnel punished by previous DHS and CISA leadership for doing their jobs have been cleared of wrongdoing and invited back to work, as we demanded three months ago,” Reps. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said in a statement.
“We cannot, and will not, tolerate political leadership punishing career employees for faithfully executing their security mission. We thank the career employees for their continued service and express our sincere regrets for the turmoil they experienced over the past several months,” they added.
Swalwell and three other House Democrats joined Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., last month in writing letters to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Intelligence Community inspector generals, requesting a probe into how CISA handled the failed test.
That letter also put into question whether putting the six officials on leave was an act of retaliation.
In a statement shared with MeriTalk, Walkinshaw welcomed the dropped investigation by CISA but pushed for his earlier request for an independent probe into why CISA investigated the officials.
“I’m glad those employees were cleared of wrongdoing and invited back to work,” Walkinshaw said. “But their reinstatement must go alongside a full and independent investigation into why leadership targeted them in the first place and if security directives were followed.”
“We need to know who ordered this retaliation, why it was allowed to occur, and how we ensure CISA employees aren’t reprimanded for following security standards,” he continued.
Both Gottumukkala and Costello departed CISA within the past month. Costello left federal service, and Gottumukkala took on a different DHS role.
DHS did not respond to MeriTalk’s request for comment.