Two high-ranking NOAA employees connected to 'Sharpiegate' are put on leave

Two top National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials who played a role in the high-profile “Sharpiegate” investigation at the agency were placed on administrative leave this week.

Two top National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials who played a role in the high-profile “Sharpiegate” investigation at the agency were placed on administrative leave this week.

Stephen Volz, the assistant administrator of NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service, and Jeff Dillen, a deputy general counsel at NOAA, were placed on leave Thursday morning, Volz told NBC News.

Volz and Dillen were figures in the controversy during the first Trump presidency that came to be known as “Sharpiegate,” in which forecasters were rebuked for contradicting the president over a crude alteration to a hurricane map.

NOAA confirmed Friday that the two men had been placed on leave.

“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,” Kim Doster, NOAA communications director, said in an emailed statement. “Separately, Dr. Volz was placed on administrative leave on an unrelated matter.”