wrote on Oct 26^th, 2013 at 11:25pm:

KC1, sounds like you got screwed bad!   Sorry to hear about this.  The CIA recruiters are nice, but the security folks are evil rat bastards.   Their employees have to get polygraphed every 5 years, so I wonder what happens when a current employee "fails" their polygraph during their clearance review?  I wonder what happens when polygraphers polygraph other polygraphers?  Do they use the same ruse, knowing that they both know the "lie behind the lie detector"?  George is right.  "Admission Inflation" is common not only with polygraphers, but also your security clearance background investigators (BIs).  I had something similar happen when I told an investigator something  minor, which was not illegal at all, but the investigator either misinterpreted what I said or just decided to spin it into making it sound like I had no regard for the law (it was all in my FOIA file).  This wasn't the reason for my employment rejection at that time, but I'm sure it did not help me.   One thing I learned is that polygraphers and BIs are not your friends.  They try to instill a false sense of friendship in you, warm you up, so you are open to talk about things.  They will smile when they meet you, shake your hand, maybe even crack a few jokes.  I bet your CIA polygrapher asked you things like, "how was your weekend?", "did you have a nice flight?".  If you are a guy, they may even talk to you about sports and all the pretty women working at the agency and in DC.  They best thing to do when having your polygraph or BI interview is to give short sweet yes/no answers.  Do not give any extra info.  Do not elaborate on anything unless asked.  You need to be that boring candidate who doesn't talk much.   The more you talk, the more your words can get twisted around and harm you.  It is similar to police interrogations.  "Anything you say CAN and WILL be used against you".  Like I said previously, go ahead and FOIA your file and appeal, and then move on.  On the down side, expect that the info you have to the CIA to be shared with other agencies, so if you need a clearance for a job in the future, this incident will come back to bite you in the ass. Admissions are what polygraphers strive for, it is like their gold star and they do a little celebration dance jig when they get them.  The polygrapher with the most admissions on their file gets bragging rights in the office.  Did the CIA make you sign any admission forms at the end of your polygraphs?

I think that you have hit the nail on the head here!
The CIA recruiters are very nice, and will promise almost anything.  Unfortunately they are NOT the ones who will be conducting or reviewing your BI.
Remember that the purpose of the BI is to dig up as much dirt on an applicant as is possible.  In the process, the a*sholes who do the field investigations will speak to any piece of slime whom they may encounter who claims to have knowledge about you.   You will NEVER have the opportunity to rebut or respond to any garbage about you that may be "uncovered" in the BI process. >:(