As NOAA Leaders Take Fall for ‘Sharpiegate,’ Commerce Bigs Duck Blame

"Senior officials within the Commerce Department have ducked two of three investigations into a controversial National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) statement issued during 2019’s Hurricane Dorian in which they played a leading role.

This has left the public and policymakers with only a partial picture of what happened, along with concerns that the scandal could repeat itself, as we move further into what is forecast to be an unusually active Atlantic hurricane season.

While a scientific integrity policy investigation completed on behalf of NOAA on Monday found that its acting administrator, Neil Jacobs, and former deputy chief of staff, Julie Kay Roberts, violated ethics policies in issuing the statement, that inquiry was incomplete."

Andrew Freedman and Jason Samenow report for the Washington Post June 18, 2020.

Source: Washington Post, 06/19/2020