Congress finishes moose hunt at NASA - April 03, 2009
The NASA inspector general, Robert "Moose" Cobb, has resigned, effective 11 April, succumbing to calls for his head from the halls of Congress. “Mr. Cobb was not up to the job," said the chairman of the House science committee, Bart Gordon, Democrat from Tennessee. It's rare for an agency inspector general to draw attention at all -- they're in the business of pointing out problems, not being a problem -- but Cobb had drawn intense criticism from the GAO, and both sides of the aisle. According to the AP, an ethics council formed during the administration of George W. Bush issued a report saying Cobb abused his authority and didn't appear independent enough. Bush appointed Cobb to his office in 2002, when he had handled ethics issues for the White House.
