CLARIFICATION: Lombardi Was Not Responsible For B-21 Contract Decision

Richard Lombardi, who was “removed” from his job as the top civilian at Air Force acquisition, was cleared of two of the more serious charges against him, according to a Defense Department Inspector General’s report.

The IG substantiated the allegations that Mr. Lombardi didn’t report his wife’s retirement account and didn’t report income earned before she resigned from Northrop Grumman, who won the B-21 contract while Lombardi was a top Air Force acquisition official. CLARIFICATION: Lombardi was not involved in the LRSB decision — that was handled by Pentagon acquisition head Frank Kendall and the former head of Air Force acquisition, Bill LaPlante.

But, most importantly, the IG cleared Lombardi of the potentially most damaging charge, that he “participated in matters involving Northrop Grumman, while knowing of his spouse’s Northrop Grumman retirement account, that had a direct and predictable effect on his or his spouse’s financial interests.”

The IG also did not substantiate that he “knowingly and willfully failed to report his spouse’s retirement account” or that he “knowingly and willfully failed to report” the earned income.

Northrop Grumman and the Air Force must have sighed a big breath of relief at the news. The final report is dated Jan. 4, but it had to be cleared for release.