The Slatest

Head of United States Naval Intelligence Is Not Currently Allowed to See Classified Material

Vice Adm. Ted Branch in 2010.

Photo by Vanderlei Almeida/AFP/Getty Images

Craziness from the Navy Times:

Vice Adm. Ted Branch, the director of naval intelligence, had his security clearance suspended in November 2013 after being investigated for possible misconduct. In the year since, no charges have been filed and there is no sense of when they might be, leaving the Navy in an untenable situation.

If classified information is being discussed at a meeting, the director of naval intelligence has to leave the room.

If Branch drops by a subordinate’s office, the space must be sanitized of any secrets before he enters.

Branch is being investigated for “possible connections” to a firm called Glenn Defense Marine Asia, whose employees have been convicted of bribing officials in exchange for Navy business.

But what, you might ask, does an intelligence director do all day when he’s prohibited from working with intelligence? Well, the Navy Times says Branch is spending time on “personnel management” and “leading an effort to raise the profile of cyber-security across the fleet.”

Also noteworthy: Glenn Defense Marine Asia’s president, Leonard Glenn Francis, is known by the nickname Fat Leonard.