SEC=UGA Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 (edited) House investigators said they have uncovered evidence that White House officials became personally involved in an Energy Department review of a hot-button $535 million loan guarantee to the now-failed California solar company Solyndra. The allegation surfaced in a letter House Energy Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) sent to the White House Thursday night, saying he planned to accelerate efforts to understand an investment deal that may have left taxpayers out half a billion dollars. "We have learned from our investigation that White House officials monitored Solyndra's application and communicated with [Department of Energy] and Office of Management and Budget officials during the course of their review," the letter says. Thursday's letter, which calls on the White House to turn over correspondence between administration officials, Solyndra and its investors, presents the most pointed suggestion that the White House had direct involvement in the financing. "How did this company, without maybe the best economic plan, all of a sudden get to the head of the line?" Upton told ABC News in an interview this week. "We want to know who made this decision ... and we're not going to stop until we get those answers." READ: Solyndra Collapse a 'Waste' of Half a Billion By Obama, GOP Critics Say White House officials have said in interviews that they did not intervene in the Solyndra deal or others benefiting companies backed by supporters of the president. Yet the administration, from Obama to the Department of Energy, has very publicly praised the loan guarantee. In 2009, the Obama administration hailed the Solyndra loan as the first in a series of federal infusions for "green energy" firms that held the potential to clean up the environment and create jobs. But earlier this week, Solyndra abruptly closed its doors, announced it would file for bankruptcy and laid off more than 1,100 workers. While Energy Department officials steadfastly vouched for Solyndra -- even after an earlier round of layoffs raised eyebrows -- other federal agencies and industry analysts for months questioned the viability of the company. Peter Lynch, a longtime solar industry analyst, told ABC News the company's fate should have been obvious from the start. "Here's the bottom line," Lynch said. "It costs them $6 to make a unit. They're selling it for $3. In order to be competitive today, they have to sell it for between $1.5 and $2. That is not a viable business plan." Other flags have been raised about how the Energy Department pushed the deal forward. The Center for Public Integrity's iWatch News and ABC disclosed that Energy Department officials announced the support for Solyndra even before final marketing and legal reviews were in. To government auditors, that move raised questions about just how fully the department vetted the deal -- and assessed its risk to taxpayers -- before signing off. READ: Did Obama Administration Cut Corners for a Green Energy Company? The White House's Office of Budget and Management viewed the arrangement as a riskier bet to taxpayers than DOE had. That forced the government to set aside millions more in case of a default, iWatch reported last month. Republicans in Congress have raised questions for months about the Energy Department's decision to make Solyndra the poster-child for the green energy loan program. They expressed concern that so much federal money was headed to a company whose key investor was George Kaiser, an Oklahoma billionaire who raised more than $50,000 for Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Since May, Kaiser has declined interview requests. The Obama administration has said the loan to Solyndra came only after a thorough review by Energy Department analysts, and that no one from the White House exerted pressure to influence the decision to back the loan in 2009, or to restructure the financing this year after it became clear Solyndra was not thriving financially. Asked about the wisdom of throwing its support behind Solyndra, Press Secretary Jay Carney said there is always risk in such a financing. But in the case of Solyndra and other green energy firms, he said, the risk is worth it. "I think there were Republicans who thought investments in clean energy were a mistake, that they were ready to cede that vital industry to foreign competition," Carney said during Thursday's White House press briefing. "They were ready to cede the automobile industry to foreign competition, a million jobs there. I -- we just disagree on that front." The Oklahoma-based George Kaiser Family Foundation, a prime investor in Solyndra, said in a statement cited by the Tulsa World newspaper that the company had been unable to overcome "serious challenges in the marketplace, especially the drastic decline in solar panel prices during the past two years caused in part by subsidies provided by the government of China to Chinese solar panel manufacturers." http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/solyndra-inv...ory?id=14434588 Edited September 2, 2011 by SEC=UGA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westvirginia Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 But I thought the last admin was the most corrupt in history? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsfan Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 But I thought the last admin was the most corrupt in history? that is true every four years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westvirginia Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 that is true every four years Somebody who gets it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 But I thought the last admin was the most corrupt in history? It was. This stinks but smells like roses compared to making up lies to start a war. Now THAT'S corruption. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tosberg34 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 It was. This stinks but smells like roses compared to making up lies to start a war. Now THAT'S corruption. Oh, so now it's "my corruption is better than your corruption"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'canes2004 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Oh, so now it's "my corruption is better than your corruption"? "I knew he'd get it one day." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moneymakers Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Hope and Change Baby!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Hope and Change Baby!!!!! It won't be long now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westvirginia Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 It was. This stinks but smells like roses compared to making up lies to start a war. Now THAT'S corruption. And once again big bear, with the "BUT, BUT, BUT shrub was WORSE!" Admit it, they all need to be lined up with your Goldman Sachs execs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditkaless Wonders Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I think I'll wait for the fact to develop a little more. Unfortuantely if it is congress only who will be looking for the facts, I do not believe I will be enlightened on the situation. Oh I'll hear blustering and posturing, but actual facts, I kind of doubt it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaterMan Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 But I thought giving money to greedy companies was better than giving it to the poor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 But I thought the last admin was the most corrupt in history? And once again big bear, with the "BUT, BUT, BUT shrub was WORSE!" Admit it, they all need to be lined up with your Goldman Sachs execs... How could you make your post then act appalled when somebody gives a related comment ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 How could you make your post then act appalled when somebody gives a related comment ? It's called SCHTICK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 It's called SCHTICK. You "just don't get it." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 And once again big bear, with the "BUT, BUT, BUT shrub was WORSE!" Admit it, they all need to be lined up with your Goldman Sachs execs... I merely confirmed what you said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Oh, so now it's "my corruption is better than your corruption"? What were you expecting - logic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted September 8, 2011 Author Share Posted September 8, 2011 (edited) The FBI has confirmed to ABC News that federal agents are conducting a search this morning at the offices of Solyndra, the now-bankrupt California solar power company that received $535 million in federal loans under a green energy program touted by President Obama. The raid is part of a joint operation between the FBI and the Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General, Public Affairs Specialist Peter D. Lee said Thursday morning. Lee said he could not disclose the reason for the raid because the matter is under seal. Karen Sulier, a spokeswoman for the Department of Energy's inspector general's office, confirmed its part in the probe. Beginning in March, ABC News, in partnership with the iWatch News/the Center for Public Integrity, was first to report on simmering questions about the role political influence may have played Solyndra's selection as the Obama administration's first loan guarantee recipient. Federal auditors had flagged the loan, saying some applicants had benefitted from special treatment. One of the lead private investors in Solyndra was an Oklahoma billionaire who served as an Obama "bundler," raising money during the 2008 presidential campaign. The bundler, George Kaiser, has declined to comment. His firm, Argonaut Ventures and its affiliates have been the single largest shareholder of Solyndra, according to SEC filings and other records. The company holds 39 percent of Solyndra's parent company, bankruptcy records filed Tuesday show. Energy officials have repeatedly denied those allegations, saying the selection process was even handed. Until two weeks ago, the Obama administration held out Solyndra as a model for its green energy program, which was devised to create jobs and spur investment in cleaner sources of energy. President Obama personally visited the Solyndra plant last year, and his Energy Department made it the first to win approval of a federal loan guarantee. The $535 million federal investment enabled the company to build a sprawling manufacturing facility. Last week, Solyndra abruptly shut its doors, announced it was laying off 1,100 workers, and then filed for bankruptcy. Executives with the company and federal energy officials said the company's failure was the result of intense competition from China. But questions about the federal support for Solyndra continued to grow. In May, ABC News and iWatch News reported that officials at the Office of Management and Budget had raised concerns about the risks of the Solyndra loan, and that the Energy Department had been forced to restructure the deal. On Wednesday, ABC News and iWatch News reported that Solyndra had also benefitted from the terms of a loan with the Federal Financing Bank. The extremely low interest rates for its loan were the lowest of any Energy Department recipients. Edited September 8, 2011 by SEC=UGA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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