- Oct 17, 2011
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Stephen Volz, the assistant administrator of NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service, and Jeff Dillen, a deputy general counsel at NOAA, were placed on leave Thursday morning, Volz told NBC News.
“The letter itself gave no information about the cause. It said, ‘You are on administrative leave pending an investigation into your recent public conduct,’” Volz said Friday, adding that he had “no idea” what was being investigated.
Volz and Dillen were figures in the controversy during the first Trump presidency that came to be known as “Sharpiegate,” in which forecasters were rebuked for contradicting the president over a crude alteration to a hurricane map.
NOAA confirmed Friday that the two men had been placed on leave.
“Mr. Dillen was placed on administrative leave by the department’s senior career attorney pending a review of performance issues over the past several weeks,” Kim Doster, NOAA communications director, said in an emailed statement. “Separately, Dr. Volz was placed on administrative leave on an unrelated matter.”
The agency is without a leader as Neil Jacobs, President Donald Trump’s nominee, awaits Senate confirmation. NOAA’s spending is also under close review. The Trump administration has proposed deep cuts to the agency’s budget
[After Sharpiegate,] NOAA hired the National Academy of Public Administration to perform an independent assessment into allegations of scientific misconduct during the incident. The investigation found that Jacobs [acting administrator during Trump 1.0] violated NOAA’s ethics policies.
Volz wrote a final decision about the report for NOAA, which agreed with NAPA’s findings. [Dillen served as legal counsel.]
“The letter itself gave no information about the cause. It said, ‘You are on administrative leave pending an investigation into your recent public conduct,’” Volz said Friday, adding that he had “no idea” what was being investigated.
Volz and Dillen were figures in the controversy during the first Trump presidency that came to be known as “Sharpiegate,” in which forecasters were rebuked for contradicting the president over a crude alteration to a hurricane map.
NOAA confirmed Friday that the two men had been placed on leave.
“Mr. Dillen was placed on administrative leave by the department’s senior career attorney pending a review of performance issues over the past several weeks,” Kim Doster, NOAA communications director, said in an emailed statement. “Separately, Dr. Volz was placed on administrative leave on an unrelated matter.”
The agency is without a leader as Neil Jacobs, President Donald Trump’s nominee, awaits Senate confirmation. NOAA’s spending is also under close review. The Trump administration has proposed deep cuts to the agency’s budget
[After Sharpiegate,] NOAA hired the National Academy of Public Administration to perform an independent assessment into allegations of scientific misconduct during the incident. The investigation found that Jacobs [acting administrator during Trump 1.0] violated NOAA’s ethics policies.
Volz wrote a final decision about the report for NOAA, which agreed with NAPA’s findings. [Dillen served as legal counsel.]
