Media Reaction to Bolden's Ethics Faux Pas

NASA inspector general faults space agency boss, Houston Chronicle
“NASA’s chief found himself mired in another controversy Monday, this time for making “inappropriate” contact with an oil company while considering an alternative fuel project. The space agency’s inspector general reported that a 10-minute phone conversation last April between Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. and a senior Marathon Oil Corp. official was inconsistent with the ethics pledge he signed upon taking office last year. It also raised concerns about an appearance of a conflict of interest, the inspector general said.”
NASA administrator Charlie Bolden rapped for violating ethics pledge, Orlando Sentinel
“But Martin’s team concluded that “the contact was not consistent with the Ethics Pledge he, as an Administration appointee, had signed, and that it raised concerns about an appearance of a conflict of interest involving the NASA Administrator and a large oil company to which he had financial ties.”
NASA administrator rapped over “conflict-of-interest”, Nature
“The report confirms allegations that Bolden contacted Marathon Oil, a company in which he holds stock “valued at between $500,000 and $1 million,” for technical advice about a NASA project called “Offshore Membrane Enclosure for Growing Algae” or OMEGA, a $10 million effort to use algae and wastewater to generate fuel. At issue was whether Marathon had biofuels projects that might have benefited from a slow-down in OMEGA.”
NASA Chief Did Not Violate Ethics Law, Report Finds , space.com
“NASA administrator Charles Bolden did not break any laws but did breach an ethics pledge by consulting with one of his former employers on NASA business, an investigation by the space agency has concluded.”