Failed NASA Inspector General Finally Resigns

Saturday, April 04, 2009
Robert "Moose" Cobb

It took numerous complaints, two critical reports, and demands from Capitol Hill that President Barack Obama fire him, but finally NASA’s inspector general has stepped down. Robert “Moose” Cobb first got into hot water in 2007 when his close associations with top NASA managers were revealed, calling into question Cobb’s impartiality in monitoring the work of the space agency. An investigation by the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency revealed that Cobb verbally abused employees and failed to maintain an appearance of independence from top NASA officials. Later a report  (PDF) by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) ranked Cobb near the bottom of federal inspectors general because his office’s investigations were saving NASA very little money (36 cents for every dollar spent, compared to $9.49 by all other inspectors general).

 
Shortly before Barack Obama’s inauguration, Congressmen Bart Gordon (D-TN), chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee, and Brad Miller (D-NC), chairman of the subcommittee on investigations and oversight, urged the new president to fire Cobb. Prior to being appointed NASA’s inspector general by President George W. Bush in 2002, Cobb served with the Office of Government Ethics and on the White House staff.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
 
NASA's Embattled Inspector General Resigns (by Tariq Malik, Space.com)

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