A Bundle O’ Scandal
Obama’s White House Has a Pattern of Funneling Taxpayer Money to Politically-Connected Companies Linked to Democrat Campaign Fundraising
- A report out late last week indicated that the Obama administration made a $529 million loan to an electric car company that is now building cars overseas in Finland. Surprise, surprise: the company is politically well-connected in the Democrat party.
- It’s not the first time Democrats have funneled taxpayer money to a company with political connections to top Democrats. Solyndra was represented by top Obama bundlers as it lobbied for a loan from the Obama administration.
- And as the stimulus loan program that funded Solyndra was about to run out of money, the White House started minting loans to several more companies with political connections.
BACKGROUND
A report out late last week indicated that the Obama administration made a $529 million loan to an electric car company that is now building cars overseas in Finland. Surprise, surprise: the company is politically well-connected in the Democrat party:
ELECTRIC CAR COMPANY TAKES $529 MILLION TAXPAYER LOAN, THEN BUILDS CARS IN FINLAND:“Vice President Joseph Biden heralded the Energy Department’s $529 million loan to the start-up electric car company called Fisker as a bright new path to thousands of American manufacturing jobs. But two years after the loan was announced, the job of assembling the flashy electric Fisker Karma sports car has been outsourced to Finland.
“ ‘There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle,’ the car company’s founder and namesake told ABC News. ‘They don’t exist here.’” (Brian Ross, “Car Company Gets U.S. Loan, Builds Cars in Finland,” ABC News, 10/20/2011)
COMPANY IS WELL-CONNECTED TO TOP DEMOCRATS SUCH AS AL GORE: “The loan to Fisker is part of a $1 billion bet the Energy Department has made in two politically connected California-based electric carmakers producing sporty — and pricey — cutting-edge autos. Fisker Automotive, backed by a powerhouse venture capital firm whose partners include former Vice President Al Gore, predicts it will eventually be churning out tens of thousands of electric sports sedans at the shuttered GM factory it bought in Delaware. And Tesla Motors, whose prime backers include PayPal mogul Elon Musk and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, says it will do the same in a massive facility tooling up in Silicon Valley.” (Brian Ross, “Car Company Gets U.S. Loan, Builds Cars in Finland,” ABC News, 10/20/2011)
SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT THE RISKINESS OF THE LOAN AND THE COMPANY’S BUSINESS MODEL EXIST: “An investigation by ABC News and the Center for Public Integrity’s iWatch News that will air on ‘Good Morning America’ found that the DOE’s bet carries risks for taxpayers, has raised concern among industry observers and government auditors, and adds to questions about the way billions of dollars in loans for smart cars and green energy companies have been awarded. Fisker is more than a year behind rolling out its $97,000 luxury vehicle bankrolled in part with DOE money. While more are promised soon, just 40 of its Karma cars (below) have been manufactured and only two delivered to customers’ driveways, including one to movie star Leonardo DiCaprio. Tesla’s SEC filings reveal the start-up has lost money every quarter. And while its federal funding is intended to help it mass produce a new $57,400 Model S sedan, the company has no experience in a project so vast.” (Brian Ross, “Car Company Gets U.S. Loan, Builds Cars in Finland,” ABC News, 10/20/2011)
It’s not the first time Democrats have funneled taxpayer money to a company with political connections to top Democrats. Solyndra was represented by top Obama bundlers as it lobbied for a loan from the Obama administration:
OBAMA BUNDLER GEORGE KAISER WAS A TOP SOLYNDRA INVESTOR: (Joe Stephens and Carol D. Leonnig, “House Republicans Steps up Solyndra Investigation,” The Washington Post, 9/1/2011)
KAISER HAD 16 MEETINGS WITH OBAMA AIDES, FOUR IN MARCH 2009—THE VERY MONTH SOLYNDRA LOAN WAS AWARDED $535 MILLION: (Jim Snyder, “FBI Raids Bankrupt Solyndra as Lawmakers Question Panel Maker’s Finances,” Bloomberg, 9/9/2011)
SOLYNDRA HIRED A TOP DEMOCRAT LOBBYIST WEEKS BEFORE ITS BANKRUPTCY “IN WHAT MAY HAVE BEEN A LAST-DITCH EFFORT TO SWAY” INVESTIGATORS: “Solyndra LLC, the solar-panel maker that collapsed after getting a U.S. loan guarantee, hired a Washington lobbying firm weeks before its bankruptcy in what may have been a last-ditch effort to sway U.S. lawmakers investigating the company.
“The Glover Park Group LLC did $20,000 of work for Solyndra after registering as its lobbyist in July, according to documents filed yesterday. Solyndra never paid the firm, according to Joel Johnson, a Glover Park managing director. … Glover Park’s Catharine Cyr Ransom and Gregg Rothschild helped to introduce Solyndra executives to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which had been investigating the company since February, according to the filing with the Senate. Rothschild is a former Democratic counsel for the House energy panel. Ransom is a former climate and environment aide to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat.” (Jim Snyder, “Solyndra Stiffed Lobbyist, Trying to Sway Lawmakers to the End,” Bloomberg, 10/21/2011)
“SOLYNDRA’S LAWYERS MAJOR OBAMA, DEMOCRATIC DONORS”: “Several senior lawyers at law firms that advised the now-failed solar company Solyndra from its beginnings and during the lead-up to its bankruptcy, are major donors to the Democratic Party and President Barack Obama.” (Matthew Boyle, “Solyndra’s Lawyers Major Obama, Democratic Donors,” The Daily Caller, 9/30/2011)
AP: DOE OFFICIAL AND “OBAMA FUNDRAISER PUSHED SOLYNDRA LOAN” DESPITE PLEDGE TO RECUSE HIMSELF; HIS WIFE WAS SOLYNDRA LOBBYIST: “Newly released emails show that Steve Spinner, a former Obama fundraiser who helped monitor a clean energy loan guarantee program, was more actively involved in a loan for Solyndra LLC than administration officials have acknowledged. …
“In the emails, Spinner repeatedly pushes Energy Department and White House budget officials to ensure that the loan was finalized before Biden’s planned trip. The loan closing was announced at the groundbreaking ceremony on Sept. 4, 2009.
“ ‘How — hard is this? What is he waiting for?’ Spinner wrote in an Aug, 28, 2009 email to a DOE official. ‘I have the OVP (Office of the Vice President) and WH (the White House) breathing down my neck on this. They are getting itchy to get involved.’” (Matthew Daly, “Obama Fundraiser Pushed Solyndra Loan,”Associated Press, 10/7/2011)
SOLYNDRA’S LAWYER BUNDLED $500,000 FOR OBAMA’S ’08 CAMPAIGN: “During the loan guarantee approval process, law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented Solyndra. As the Washington Times reported, the firm skated away with $2.4 million from Solyndra’s coffers before the solar panel manufacturer went bankrupt. Taxpayers wrote that $2.4 million check via the stimulus, or the ‘Recovery Act.’
“According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Wilson Sonsini CEO John Roos bundled at least $500,000 for Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign; has donated, with his wife, at least $77,500 to Democrats since 1992; and was nominated by Obama to be the U.S. ambassador to Japan.” (Matthew Boyle, “Solyndra’s Lawyers Major Obama, Democratic Donors,” The Daily Caller, 9/30/2011)
FORMER DEMOCRAT REP. MEL LEVINE (D-CA)’S FIRM NETTED $1 MILLION FROM SOLYNDRA, AFTER HE BUNDLED $200,000 FOR OBAMA CAMPAIGN: “Another law firm that netted about $1 million from taxpayers via Solyndra stimulus dollars was Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, according to the Washington Times. Mel Levine, a partner with that firm, is a former Democratic congressman from California who has already personally bundled about $200,000 for Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. Levine, who served as a Democrat in the U.S. House from 1983 to 1993, was a registered lobbyist as recently as 2009 and has made four personal visits to the White House, according to visitor logs.” (Matthew Boyle, “Solyndra’s Lawyers Major Obama, Democratic Donors,” The Daily Caller, 9/30/2011)
CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY LISTED AMONG SOLYNDRA’S CREDITORS: “Out of the hundreds of out-of-work employees, vendors, investors and other creditors in the bankruptcy of government-backed solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC, one name stands out: the California Democratic Party.” (Jim McElhatton, “California Democratic Party Among Solyndra’s Creditors,” The Washington Times, 9/25/2011)
And as the stimulus loan program that funded Solyndra was about to run out of money, the White House started minting loans to several more companies with political connections:
DÉJÀ VU? OBAMA’S DEPT. OF ENERGY RUSHED TO APPROVE MORE SOLYNDRA-LIKE LOANS: “If you thought the $535 million Solyndra scandal had chastened the fearless venture capitalists of the Obama Administration, think again. The Department of Energy shovelled out $1.1 billion in new loan guarantees to solar projects in Nevada and Arizona Wednesday, and more deals are pending before the $18 billion program funded by the 2009 stimulus expires Friday. (Editorial, “What Solyndra Fiasco?”, The Wall Street Journal, 9/29/2011)
“MORE SOLAR COMPANIES LED BY DEMOCRATIC DONORS RECEIVED FEDERAL LOAN GUARANTEES”: “A Daily Caller investigation has found that in addition to the failed company Solyndra, at least four other solar panel manufacturing companies receiving in excess of $500 million in loan guarantees from the Obama administration employ executives or board members who have donated large sums of money to Democratic campaigns.
“And as questions swirl around possible connections between political donations and these preferential financing arrangements, the Obama White House suddenly began deflecting The Daily Caller’s questions on Wednesday to the Democratic National Committee.” (John Rossomondo, “More Solar Companies Led by Democratic Donors Received Federal Loan Guarantees,” The Daily Caller, 9/29/2011)
OBAMA HELD A FUNDRAISER WITH MISSOURI POLITICO TOM CARNAHAN, BROTHER OF REP. RUSS CARNAHAN (D-MO), ALSO A WIND FARM OBAMA TAX CREDIT BENEFICIARY: “Carnahan, a member of the prominent Missouri Democratic family, has been tapped by the Obama campaign as its chief Missouri fundraiser. He is chairman of the board of Wind Capital Group, a wind energy company that makes it[s] corporate headquarters in St. Louis. He formerly was president and CEO of the company.
“Last year, Wind Capital’s Lost Creek Farm facility in northwest Missouri received a $107 million tax credit from the Treasury Department, among many such wind operations receiving support from stimulus funds.” (Bill Lambrecht, “Obama to Raise Money at Tom Carnahan’s St. Louis Home,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 9/23/2011)
SUNPOWER:
OBAMA ADMIN JUST AUTHORIZED A $1.2 BILLION LOAN GUARANTEE FOR ANOTHER SOLAR COMPANY WITH FINANCIAL TROUBLES AND POLITICAL HOOKUPS: “As failed solar panel manufacturer Solyndra rides through the investigative ringer in Congress, revelations of another politically-connected company that received what appears to be a less-than-virtuous $1.2 billion loan guarantee are surfacing.
“The company, SunPower, received its $1.2 billion loan guarantee in September, immediately before the program’s deadline.
“SunPower isn’t as financially sound as the public was led to believe when it secured a loan guarantee twice the size of Solyndra’s $535 million loan. Just this week — less than a month after taxpayers landed on the hook for SunPower’s $1.2 billion loan guarantee — company executives announced that they expect to lower their 2011 earnings projections. The company also carries $820 million in debt, which is $20 million more than its market capitalization.” (Matthew Boyle, “Solar Company with $1.2 Billion Taxpayer Loan Guarantee, Political Connections Exhibits Signs of Financial Trouble,” The Daily Caller, 10/11/2011)
ENERGY DEPARTMENT “CAUGHT RED-HANDED ENGAGING IN REVISIONST HISTORY” ON “LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM THAT SOLYNDRA HAS BEEN A PART OF”: “ANCHOR: ‘The Energy Department has been caught red-handed engaging in some revisionist history. Eamon Javers is breaking that story, he has the exclusive from Washington. Eamon?’
“JAVERS: Karl, I just want to share with you some odd stuff that we found in looking through the Department of Energy press releases in that loan guarantee program that Solyndra has been a part of, that’s been such a controversial story. We’ve been combing through those press releases. And if you look at what we found, it looks like somebody over at the Department of Energy has gone back and retroactively changed some of the press releases. Start with this April 12, 2011 press release which said the Department of Energy was issuing a $1.187 billion loan guaranteed that was sponsored by Sun Power Corporation, the project in question. Now look at the way that has been revised. The date on this is still April 12th, 2011, but now the press release up on this loan program’s office website at the DOE says the program was sponsored by NRG Energy, an entirely separate company. … I have to tell you, Carl, making changes to previously issued press releases is a little bit unusual in this town or anywhere else, and that’s why we’re flagging it for you today.” (Eamon Javers, “Dept. of Energy Revises History,”CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” 10/19/2011)
REP. GEORGE MILLER (D-CA) IS NANCY PELOSI’S “CLOSEST ALLY”: (John Bresnahan and Jonathan Allen, “Nancy Pelosi to Run for Minority Leader,” Politico, 11/05/2010)
MILLER’S SON IS A LOBBYIST FOR SUNPOWER: “But, Miller failed to mention how his son, George Miller IV, is SunPower’s top lobbyist in California. Miller’s son was pushing for the $1.2 billion loan guarantee taxpayers are on the hook for now.” (Matthew Boyle, “Solar company with $1.2 billion taxpayer loan guarantee, political connections exhibits signs of financial trouble,” The Daily Caller, 10/12/2011)
ABOUND SOLAR:
$400 MILLION LOAN GIVEN TO ABOUND SOLAR, WHICH IS BACKED BY MAJOR FINANCIER OF DEMOCRAT CAUSES: “President Barack Obama on Saturday announced that Colorado thin-film solar panel manufacturer Abound Solar Inc. will get a conditional $400 million loan guarantee under the federal stimulus program to support expanded manufacturing.” (Mark Harden, “Obama Announces Abound Solar to Get $400M Federal Loan Guarantee,” Denver Business Journal, 7/03/2010)
BOHEMIAN COMPANIES IS AN INVESTOR IN ABOUND SOLAR: “Abound Solar’s existing investors, Invus Group, Bohemian Companies, DCM, and Technology Partners, participated in the equity round. New investors BP Alternative Energy Ventures and West Hill Companies joined in, according to an Abound Solar news release.” (Staff, “Solar Company Received Loan from Government,” The Tribune, 12/14/2010)
BOHEMIAN COMPANIES IS OWNED BY PAT STRYKER: “Bohemian Companies is owned by billionaire philanthropist Pat Stryker.” (Pat Ferrier, “Old Steele’s Coming Down,” Fort Collins Coloradan, 1/26/2010)
STRYKER HAS GIVEN $5,912,175 TO DEMOCRATS AND DEMOCRAT CAUSES SINCE 2001: (CQMoneyLine, accessed 9/29/2011)
SOLAR RESERVE:
THE PELOSI CONNECTION:
NANCY PELOSI’S BROTHER-IN-LAW IS A MAJOR INVESTOR IN SOLARRESERVE, COMPANY THAT JUST RECEIVED $737 MILLION D.O.E. LOAN: “On SolarReserve’s website is a list of ‘investment partners,’ including the ‘PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund (East) LLC.’ As blogger American Glob quickly discovered, PCG’s number two is none other than ‘Ronald Pelosi, a San Francisco political insider and financial industry polymath who happens to be the brother-in-law of Nancy Pelosi, theMinority Leader of the United States House of Representatives.” (Mark Hemingway, “Crony Capitalism: $737 Million Green Jobs Loan Given to Nancy Pelosi’s Brother-in-Law,” The Weekly Standard, 9/29/2011)
RONALD PELOSI AND NANCY PELOSI ARE PART OF “TIGHTKNIT POWER WEB” THAT IS SAN FRANCISCO’S “UPPER CRUST”: “A permanent overclass supports a well-attended opera, countless museums and other cultural amenities and also provides, for better or worse, civic and political continuity.
“The recent death of cultural doyenne Belinda Barbara Newsom provided a peek into that tightly knit world. She was the aunt of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, but also the former wife of Ronald Pelosi, a former city supervisor and brother-in-law of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.” (Dan Walters, “S.F.’s Upper Crust Is a Tightknit Power Web,” Fresno Bee, 11/28/2008)
THE ARGONAUT-KAISER CONNECTION:
OTHER INVESTORS INCLUDE ARGONAUT PRIVATE EQUITY, WHICH ALSO INVESTED IN… YOU GUESSED IT: SOLYNDRA: “Steve Mitchell and Argonaut Private Equity might have a chance to recoup some of their losses in the Solyndra debacle now that the Department of Energy has given as $737 million loan guarantee to a company backed by Argonaut that also lists Mitchell as a ‘board participant.’” (Joel Gehrke, “Solyndra Director Tied to $737 million Loan Guarantee,” The Washington Examiner, 9/28/2011)
ARGONAUT IS ALSO TIED TO OBAMA DONOR GEORGE KAISER: “According to Solar Reserve’s website, one of its investors is Argonaut Private Equity, which also backed the Solyndra deal. Argonaut is an investment arm of the family foundation of George Kaiser, a political supporter of President Barack Obama. In the past, administration officials have denied that Mr. Kaiser’s connection to the White House played any role in the Solyndra deal.” (Ryan Tracy, “Two Solar Plants Get Loan Guarantees,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/29/2011)
THE PODESTA CONNECTION:
TONY PODESTA IS A LOBBYIST FOR SOLARRESERVE: (Lobbying Report, Registrant Name: Podesta Group, Inc., Client Name: SolarReserve, Q2 2011, filed 7/20/2011)
PELOSI IS A CLOSE FRIEND OF THE PODESTAS, ATTENDED TONY’S 65TH BIRTHDAY BASH: “Spotted Friday night at lobbyist Tony Podesta’s 65th birthday party inside the National Museum of Women in the Arts museum … Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) with husband Paul Pelosi …” (Kiki Ryan, “Tony Podesta Celebrates 65th Birthday,” Politico, 10/24/2009)
TONY PODESTA IS JOHN PODESTA’S BROTHER: “In addition, in 1988, [John] Podesta founded with his brother Tony, Podesta Associates, Inc., a Washington, D.C. government relations and public affairs firm.” (“Arena Profile: John Podesta,” Politico.com, accessed 9/29/2011)
JOHN PODESTA IS THE CEO OF THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: (“John Podesta,” Center for American Progress Web site, americanprogress.org, accessed 9/29/2011)
JOHN PODESTA LED OBAMA’S TRANSITION TEAM: “Obama asked Podesta last summer to lead the transition after Sen. Hillary Clinton withdrew from the race, but long before Obama was elected president.” (Lois Romano, “John Podesta Leads Obama’s Transition Team with His Usual Energy,” The Washington Post, 11/25/2008)
PODESTA “A KEY POLITICAL ALLY” FOR OBAMA: “President Barack Obama is nominating John Podesta, a key political ally, to serve on the board that helps set policies and direction for the government’s national service agency, the White House announced Thursday.” (Ann Sanner, “Podesta Among Obama’s Picks for Service Board,” Associated Press, 6/24/2010)