The other was in 1963, when Webb was NASA administrator. An agency budget analyst, Clifford Norton, was arrested and later fired due to his sexual orientation. Norton later sued the Civil Service Commission, a case that helped lead to overturning civil service policies that permitted such firings.The report, they wrote, seems to be answering the question Is there definitive physical proof that James Webb knew about Clifford Norton and his case? Thats a separate question from, Was James Webb, as administrator, responsible for the activities of the agency he led? They said they find it
His historical reputation is however compromised by evidence that he took part in purges of gay men from the federal workforce in the 1940s and 1950s in the so-called Lavender Scare. In 1963, while he led NASA, the agencys employee Clifford Norton was also sacked for homosexual behaviour.