James Hansen, the top climate scientist at NASA, recently explained that his superiors have tried to silence him because his commitment to reducing greenhouse gases linked to global warming is inconsistent with the Bush agenda. As the WaPo noted, it’s reached a point in which NASA officials won’t let Hansen speak to reporters unless his superiors are allowed to listen in on the phone call.
Fortunately, NASA has an inspector general, whose office is supposed to be independent of political pressure and who can launch internal investigations to ensure the integrity of an agency’s rules. If NASA is cracking down on Hansen or anyone else, surely the public can count on the agency’s IG, right? Wrong. As it turns out, NASA’s inspector general is under investigation himself for suppressing audits and shutting down legitimate inquiries.
An FBI-led watchdog agency has opened an investigation into multiple complaints accusing NASA Inspector General Robert W. Cobb of failing to investigate safety violations and retaliating against whistle-blowers. Most of the complaints were filed by current and former employees of his own office.
Written complaints and supporting documents from at least 16 people have been given to investigators. They allege that Cobb, appointed by President Bush in 2002, suppressed investigations of wrongdoing within NASA, and abused and penalized his own investigators when they persisted in raising concerns.
How did Cobb get this job? It’s a good question — he has literally no experience in conducting audits, but is principally responsible for conducting audits at NASA. What was he doing before he became NASA’s IG? He worked in the Bush White House, as an attorney in the WH counsel’s office. (As the WaPo noted, Cobb is among four of 11 inspectors general appointed by Bush who previously worked in the White House, and one of nine with no audit experience.)
Keep in mind, this isn’t just about mistreatment of scientists like Hansen.
Cobb-related complaints also show that the IG has “shut down or ignore[d] investigations on issues such as a malfunctioning self-destruct procedure during a space shuttle launch at the Kennedy Space Center, and the theft of an estimated $1.9 billion worth of data on rocket engines from NASA computers.”
Also remember, because congressional Republicans no longer believe in exercising their oversight responsibilities, inspectors general have become key government officials, launching investigations into fraud and abuse now that Congress won’t. As Paul Light, a professor of government at New York University, said, “They are becoming the de facto overseers of government.”
Unfortunately, many of these IGs were appointed by Bush — and now we’re seeing the results.