Two men led inquiry into 2019 debacle involving incorrect hurricane projections that tarnished federal agency’s record
Gabrielle Canon at The Guardian:
Two high-ranking officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were placed on administrative leave on Friday, fueling speculation that the Trump administration was retaliating against them for actions taken during the president’s first term. Jeff Dillen, who was serving as deputy general counsel, and Stephen Volz, who heads the agency’s satellites division, led the investigation into whether agency administrators abdicated their scientific ethics when they altered the forecast of a deadly hurricane to match statements made by the president. First reported by CNN, the two were placed on leave just days before Neil Jacobs – the former Noaa chief at the center of the scandal – returns for a confirmation hearing as Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency once again. During the 2019 debacle known as “Sharpiegate”, named for erroneous marks added by marker on a National Hurricane Center map to justify incorrect claims made by the president that Hurricane Dorian would reach Alabama – a path not in line with what forecasters initially reported – left a blemish on the science-focused agency’s record. The investigation, it was announced in June 2020, found Jacobs and another official had violated the agency’s “scientific integrity policy”, when they succumbed to political pressure. On Friday, the agency disputed the association between the officials being placed on leave and Jacobs’s nomination.
“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,” Noaa’s communications director, Kim Doster, said in an email responding to a request for more information about the incident. She added that Volz was placed on leave “on an unrelated matter”. Doster did not answer questions about the specifics that led to these actions or about whether workers at Noaa were briefed about the decisions. Noaa staffers, who asked for anonymity out of fear of reprisal for speaking out about the issue, told the Guardian they were not told about what happened and had to learn about it on the news. They also questioned the agency’s explanation. “It is laughable that anyone could look at this and say that their situations are ‘separate’ when both were leads on the Sharpiegate investigation,” one staffer said. “Both of them are brilliant, dedicated civil servants.”
Two top NOAA officials, Jeff Dillen and Stephen Volz, were put on administrative leaver over their roles in investigating Sharpigate in 2019 regarding Hurricane Dorian’s track that falsely put it in Alabama.
