IG Hearings: Not A Good Day For NASA

NASA official grilled on destruction of meeting videos, Government Executive

“Wholley testified that he felt the meeting could hurt the administrator. In an e-mail from Wholley to Morrell sent prior to the videocast meeting and distributed at the hearing by committee staff, Wholley wrote that he was concerned that such a meeting could only make Griffin look bad. “I see no ‘upside’ for Mike [Griffin] in the proposed [course of action], and I do see a downside,” Wholley wrote. He warned that if Griffin spoke critically of the IG, it would lend credibility to the complaints, while if he praised the IG, it would shift the controversy to himself.”

NASA’s chief lawyer under fire, Orlando Sentinel

“U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wisc., lashed into Wholley for destroying public records and said he’s willing to sign a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales with Miller requesting a criminal investigation. “I think it’s very clear the tape was a public record,” Sensenbrenner said, brandishing a copy of federal law on preserving public documents. “It’s also a crime to destroy public records.”