NASA's Chief Auditor Resigns

NASA's embattled top auditor, Robert "Moose Cobb," has resigned effective April 11, the agency announced.

Here's the text of a letter that Cobb, who led NASA's Office of Inspector General since 2002, submitted today to President Obama:

Dear Mr. President:

With this letter I tender my resignation as the Inspector General of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, effective April 11, 2009.

I have been honored to serve the United States over the past seventeen years, first at the Office of Government Ethics, then at the White House, and for the last seven years as Inspector General.

A new Inspector General will find an organization with extraordinarily talented employees dedicated to rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse and promoting the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of NASA.

At NASA, the seemingly impossible is turned into marvels of human achievement. Challenges facing NASA are many, but I am confident that they will be ably met by your Administration, working with NASA's gifted scientists, engineers, institutional leaders, and contractor workforce.

I wish you every success.

Very Respectfully,

Robert W. Cobb


Here's a press release applauding the resignation from Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the West Virginia Democrat who heads the senate committee with NASA oversight:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator John D (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-WV), Chairman of the U.S. Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, issued the following statement regarding the resignation of NASA Inspector General Robert Cobb:

"Only a few short weeks ago, Senator McCaskill and I expressed deep concerns to President Obama that the NASA Inspector General, Robert Cobb, had been repeatedly accused of stifling investigations, retaliating against whistleblowers and prioritizing social relationships with top NASA officials over proper federal oversight. I respectfully asked that the President take immediate action to put an end to IG Cobb's conflict of interest and cronyism and remove him from the system.

"News of Robert Cobb's resignation is certainly welcome and this is an important step forward. I applaud the White House for taking a zero tolerance approach to lax enforcement and oversight. President Obama is setting the tone from the top and holding all employees who serve the American people accountable for improper conduct and just plain not doing their jobs. The time has come to close the door on this troubling chapter for NASA and a fresh start awaits."

Here's a letter requesting Cobb's ouster that Rockefeller and others sent to Obama last month.

Here's Cobb's official bio:

Following nomination by President George W. Bush and confirmation by the United States Senate, Robert W. Cobb took office as NASA's Inspector General on April 22, 2002. As Inspector General, Mr. Cobb is a member of the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency He also served as an "observer" to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, which examined the February 1, 2003, loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and its crew.

Mr. Cobb was previously Associate Counsel to the President. In this role, he handled the administration of the White House ethics program under the supervision of the Counsel to the President and was responsible for administration of the conflict of interest and financial disclosure clearance processes for candidates for nomination to Senate-confirmed positions.

Prior to joining the Office of the Counsel to the President in January 2001, Mr. Cobb worked for almost nine years at the United States Office of Government Ethics. Prior to Government service, he worked for five years as an associate attorney at Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver. Mr. Cobb is a 1986 graduate, cum laude, from George Washington University's National Law Center, and a 1982 graduate, cum laude, from Vanderbilt University.

IMAGE NOTE: Official photo of Robert Cobb. Source: NASA Office of Inspector General.