{{Short description|American government official (born 1957)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Christopher Sharpley | image = Christopher R. Sharpley.jpg | office = Acting Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency | president = Barack Obama<br>Donald Trump | term_start = February 1, 2015 | term_end = September 9, 2017 | predecessor = David Buckley | successor = Christine Ruppert (Acting) | birth_name = Christopher Robert Sharpley | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|5|21}} | birth_place = Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | education = American University (BA)<br>Naval Postgraduate School (MA) }} '''Christopher Robert Sharpley''' (born May 21, 1957)<ref name=questionnaire>{{cite web|url=https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/q-csharpley-101717.pdf|title=Questionnaire for Completion by Presidential Nominees|date=22 September 2017|website=U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence|access-date=11 December 2019}}</ref> was the Acting Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2015 to 2017.<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/111/chrg/shrg66164/CHRG-111shrg66164.htm HEARING BEFORE THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE, ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION], congress.gov, September 21, 2010, retrieved January 4, 2010</ref> He was nominated by President Donald Trump in September 2017 to become Inspector General of the CIA<ref name="nomination">{{cite news|last1=Giaritelli|first1=Anna|title=Trump picks 42 key administration nominees, including heads of NASA and Office of National Drug Control Policy|url=http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-picks-42-key-administration-nominees-including-heads-of-nasa-and-office-of-national-drug-control-policy/article/2633254|access-date=16 October 2017|publisher=Washington Examiner|date=September 1, 2017}}</ref> but failed to receive confirmation in the United States Senate.<ref name=congress>{{cite web|title=PN925 — Christopher R. Sharpley — Central Intelligence|url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/115th-congress/925|date=23 July 2018|publisher=U.S. Congress|access-date=11 December 2019}}</ref>
==Biography== Sharpley received a B.A. from American University in 1981 and was then commissioned as a United States Air Force officer through the ROTC program at Howard University. He later earned an M.A. from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1986. He served on active duty in the Air Force until 1992 and then in the Air Force Reserve until 2002.<ref name=questionnaire/>
In his first leadership function, Sharpley was a Director of Security Operations in the U.S. Air Force. Afterwards, he became the Deputy Inspector General for Investigations and Inspections at the United States Department of Energy.<ref name=whitehouse>{{cite news|title=President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2017/09/02/president-donald-j-trump-announces-intent-nominate-personnel-key|access-date=13 October 2017|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|date=September 2, 2017}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>
He then became Deputy Inspector General for Investigations at the Federal Housing Finance Authority<ref>{{cite web|title=Case 1:11|url=https://www.fhfaoig.gov/Content/Files/Taylor%20Bean%20%20Whitaker%20%28July%202015%20Production%29.pdf|date=|publisher=Office of Inspector General|access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref> and Deputy Special Inspector General for Investigations<ref>{{cite web|title=Special Inspector General for Troubled Asset Relief Program|url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/09/14/2010-22691/senior-executive-service-performance-review-board-membership#p-244|date=1 October 2010|publisher=The Federal Register|access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref> for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP). In this capacity, he was responsible for the coordination of combined teams of special agents, investigators, analysts, and attorney advisors who as experienced financial and corporate fraud investigators conducted criminal investigations into persons in or out of government who misused or even stole TARP funds.<ref>{{cite web|title=Quarterly Report to Congress April 21, 2009|url=https://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/business/20090421_BAILOUT.pdf|date=21 April 2009|publisher=Office of the Special Inspector General|access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref> He was part of an investigation into the collapse of a proposed partnership between Colonial BancGroup, Florida's sixth-largest bank, and a mortgage lender, Taylor, Bean & Whitaker, based in Ocala, Florida, that could have brought the entities more than $500 million in federal bailout money.<ref>{{cite web|title=Agents Raid Bank and Lender in Florida|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/business/04florida.html|date=3 August 2009|work=The New York Times|access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref>
=== Central Intelligence Agency === Since July 2012 he has been Deputy Inspector General at the CIA,<ref>[https://www.apnews.com/06deda88daa84885ac9daa49718a86e4/CIA-watchdog-nominee-scolded-for-lack-of-preparation CIA watchdog nominee scolded for lack of preparation], apnews.com, 18 October 2017, retrieved 4 January 2018</ref> becoming for a surprisingly long time the acting successor of Inspector General David Buckley<ref>{{cite web|title=Leadership|url=https://www.cia.gov/about-cia/leadership|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012191825/https://www.cia.gov/about-cia/leadership/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 12, 2012|date=5 June 2017|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref> who retired in January 2015,<ref>[https://time.com/3655198/cia-david-buckley-inspector-general-resignation/ CIA Inspector General David Buckley to Resign], time.com, January 6, 2015, retrieved January 4, 2017</ref> as Shirley Woodward, nominated by President Barack Obama in June 2016, was pending her Senate approval.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Chowdhry|first1=Aisha|title=Obama taps former spy as CIA watchdog|url=https://fcw.com/Blogs/FCW-Insider/2016/06/CIA-IG-woodward.aspx|access-date=16 October 2017|publisher=FCW|date=June 17, 2016}}</ref>
In 2016, Sharpley uploaded a report about the CIA's earlier torture practices to the office's internal computer network and then destroyed the hard disk, following standard protocol. Another employee then inadvertently deleted the software copy from the server.<ref>{{cite web|title=CIA watchdog 'accidentally destroyed' copy of 'torture report'|url=https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/280002-cia-watchdog-accidentally-destroyed-only-copy-of-torture-report/|date=16 May 2016|work=The Hill|access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref>
On January 3, 2017, without having held any hearing, the outgoing Senate sent Woodward's nomination back to the President,<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/nomination/114th-congress/1549 PN1549 — Shirley Woodward — Central Intelligence], congress.gov, 3 January 2017, retrieved 4 January 2018</ref> enabling Sharpley to stay Acting Inspector General. On September 5, 2017, new President Donald Trump nominated him to the post;<ref name=congress/> in October 2017, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence held a hearing on Sharpley's nomination.<ref>{{cite web|title=Senate Intel to Hold Confirmation Hearing Next Week for CIA Inspector General Nominee Christopher Sharpley|url=https://www.burr.senate.gov/press/releases/senate-intel-to-hold-confirmation-hearing-next-week-for-cia-inspector-general-nominee-christopher-sharpley|date=12 October 2017|publisher=Richard Burr|access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref> After failing to receive further consideration in the Senate, President Trump withdrew the nomination on July 23, 2018.<ref name=congress/>
Sharpley left as acting inspector general of the CIA in August 2018.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Nelson|first=Matthew|date=2019-01-15|title=Former CIA Official Christopher Sharpley Joins Next Phase's Federal Practice|url=https://blog.executivebiz.com/2019/01/former-cia-official-christopher-sharpley-joins-next-phases-federal-practice/|access-date=2020-06-14|website=ExecutiveBiz|language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Private sector === In January 2019, he was named managing director of the federal practice at the data management services provider Next Phase Solutions, LLC
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharpley, Christopher R.}} Category:1957 births Category:American University alumni Category:Living people Category:Naval Postgraduate School alumni Category:Obama administration personnel Category:People from Trenton, New Jersey Category:People of the Central Intelligence Agency Category:First Trump administration personnel Category:United States Air Force officers