FDA Takes End Run to Award Contract to PR Firm

Goldberg said he did nothing wrong in pursuing the contract and left the details to Cooper.

"I assumed this was all what Mildred was working out with them," Goldberg said. "I never talked to the contracting officers and would never say to Mildred, 'Deceive your contracting officers.' "

Dunn also said he would never advise clients to do anything that might violate federal regulations.

On July 23, after more deliberation, the FDA issued a $300,000 purchase order for the public awareness campaign, with ANI listed as the contractor. An FDA official said ANI had pledged in writing to do more than half the work.

The FDA said this week that it had suspended the contract before any money changed hands.

Dyer said he does not believe von Eschenbach or other senior officials knew what Cooper was doing. "From what I can tell, it was Mildred trying to drive it," he said. "Whatever she did with Qorvis does not represent the agency."

Cooper said she was only trying to help the agency.

"My role was to assist with that very important effort," Cooper said. "If anything improper was done, it was done unknowingly."

Staff researcher Lucy Shackelford contributed to this report.