NASA OIG Review of Constellation Program Manager Jeffrey Hanley's Reassignment

"The OIG found that Hanley's reassignment was a management decision made by Douglas Cooke, Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems, with the concurrence of NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, and was taken in response to actions by Hanley that led senior NASA leadership to believe he could no longer effectively lead Constellation during a period when the President was seeking to cancel the Program in the face of significant congressional opposition. ... The OIG review found that Hanley does not claim he was retaliated against through this reassignment and we uncovered no evidence of unlawful reprisal. The OIG also found no evidence to suggest that Hanley was reassigned in order to delay or thwart execution of the Constellation Program or to foreclose Congress's ability to consider alternatives to the Administration's plan for NASA."

Text of Letter from NASA OIG to Sens. Rockefeller and Hutchison Regarding Jeff Hanley's Reassignment

"After attending the speech. Hanley sent Bolden an e-mail later that day with the subject line "Respectfully submitted." In the e-mail, Hanley thanked Bolden for his words of support, but requested that Bolden "hear us out'" regarding Constellation. He told Bolden that "Walking away so lightly from a focused concerted effort to explore in our lifetimes should be reconsidered," and questioned Bolden for "decisions being made without yourself ever receiving a briefing from anyone in the program as to what we are all about."' He continued that "to not hear our story, directly, and to hear NASA leadership and administration officials further spread the spin and accusations of others without giving us a chance to rebutt [sic] or respond does not align with the core values you recited to us today."