Robert W. Cobb

Robert Watson Cobb is an American lawyer. He worked for the George W. Bush administration before becoming NASA Inspector General.

Early life and education

Cobb attended Vanderbilt University, graduating in 1982 "cum laude".

He graduated from George Washington University's National Law Center in 1986 "cum laude".

Career

NASA Inspector General :Appointed: February 25, 2002:Nomination sent to Senate: February 26, 2002:Confirmed by Senate: April 11, 2002

Cobb worked for five years as an associate at the law firm of Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver.

Cobb worked for almost nine years at the United States Office of Government Ethics before becoming Associate Counsel to the President in the George W. Bush administration. In this position he was responsible for the administration of the White House ethics program (the conflict of interest and financial disclosure clearance for candidates for nomination to Senate-confirmed positions) under the supervision of then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales.

President George W. Bush appointed Cobb to the position of NASA Inspector General on February 25, 2002. The nomination was sent to Senate February 26, 2002 and was confirmed on April 11, 2002.

Cobb served as an "observer" to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, investigating the 2003 Space Shuttle "Columbia" disaster.

Investigation and calls for removal

In 2006, Cobb became the subject of a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that he retaliated against whistleblowers, suppressed investigations, and penalized his own investigators for pursuing allegations of theft, safety violations, and other wrongdoing. The probe was conducted under the auspices of the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency, of which Cobb himself is a member.

The investigation issued its final report on Jan 22, 2007 and concluded that Cobb "created an appearance of a lack of independence" [http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3013123]

According to documents and interviews with current and former NASA employees obtained by the "Washington Post", Cobb declined to investigate some security and safety issues reported to the Office of Inspector General. Some NASA employees said that Cobb was too friendly with previous NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, and he had "stopped investigations and suppressed audits" to avoid embarrassing O'Keefe and other leaders. [Leary, Warren E. "Investigator at NASA Faces Inquiry Over Safety." "New York Times" 4 Feb. 2006. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/national/04nasa.html?n=Top/Reference/Times Topics/Organizations/N/National Aeronautics And Space Administration] ]

On April 1, 2007, the leaders of congressional subcommittee responsible for NASA oversight—Representative Brad Miller of North Carolina, the chair of the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Technology and Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, the chair of the Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics and Related Matters of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee—wrote to President Bush to call for Cobb's removal. [Leary, Warren E. "Lawmakers Call for Ouster of Top Inspector at Space Agency." "New York Times" 3 April 2007. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/03/us/03nasa.html?_r=1&oref=slogin] ]

Cobb testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics, and Related Sciences and House Science Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight on June 7, 2007. ["Prepared Statement by NASA Inspector General Robert Cobb." [http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=24416] ]

Notes

Sources

* [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/oig/hq/inspector_general.html NASA biographical sketch]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/02/AR2006020202721.html NASA's Inspector General Probed] . Washington Post, 2006-02-03, p A1.
* [http://www.space.com/news/070405_griffin_nasaig.html NASA Chief Defends Embattled Inspector General] . Space.com, 2007-04-05.
* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/nominations/277.html Presidential nomination]