Surprised White House Finds Indicted NASA Chief at Desk

The White House has stepped up a search for a new head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to replace James Beggs, who is under indictment on matters not related to NASA, an official confirmed today.

A White House aide said Administration officials have agreed that Beggs will have to resign, rather than continue on an unpaid leave of absence, and acknowledged a Washington Post report that an “accelerated search” is under way for a permanent administrator.

White House officials were reportedly taken aback to learn after the Challenger space shuttle catastrophe Jan. 28 that Beggs was still working at NASA.

Beggs had agreed to the leave when he was indicted last December on charges of trying to hide cost overruns on a federal defense contract between 1978 and 1981 when he was an executive vice president at General Dynamics Corp.

In taking leave, Beggs stressed that he was not resigning, saying, “I do not intend to leave the agency.”

Acting Administrator William Graham has been the main spokesman for NASA since the Challenger disaster, but a presidential assistant said that because of Graham’s limited experience at NASA, he probably will not be in line to succeed Beggs.