Solyndra Scandal Now a Solar Storm for Dems

November 15, 2011

Obama’s DOE Pressured Solyndra to Push Layoffs Until After 2010 Election While Solyndra Had Its Hand Out

Solyndra e-mails revealed today show that Energy Department officials worried about a political backlash and thus pressured Solyndra to push an announcement of the company’s financial troubles to after the 2010 midterm elections.
DOE’s pressure on Solyndra set up an apparent political quid pro quo. Solyndra was lobbying at the time for additional financial assistance from DOE, and while Solyndra had its hand out DOE asked for a political favor.
Just days ago the White House accused congressional investigators demanding the release of all Solyndra documents of engaging in “partisan politics.” It appears now that it was members of the Obama administration engaging in a partisan political cover-up to hide their woeful lack of judgment in the Solyndra fiasco.

BACKGROUND

Solyndra e-mails revealed today show that Energy Department officials worried about a political backlash and thus pressured Solyndra to push an announcement of the company’s financial troubles to after the 2010 midterm elections:

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION URGED SOLYNDRA TO DELAY LAYOFF ANNOUNCEMENTS UNTIL AFTER 2010 MIDTERM ELECTIONS: “The Obama administration urged officers of the struggling solar company Solyndra to postpone announcing planned layoffs until after the November 2010 midterm elections, newly released e-mails show.

“Solyndra, the now-shuttered California company, had been a poster child of President Obama’s initiative to invest in clean energies and received the administration’s first energy loan of $535 million. But a year ago, in October 2010, the solar panel manufacturer was quickly running out of money and had warned the Department of Energy it would need emergency cash to avoid having to shut down.”(Carol Leonnig, “Solyndra: Department of Energy ‘Pushed Hard’ for Company Not to Announce Layoffs Until after 2010 Mid-Term Elections,” The Washington Post, 11/15/2011)

DOE’s pressure on Solyndra set up an apparent political quid pro quo. Solyndra was lobbying at the time for additional financial assistance from DOE, and while Solyndra had its hand out DOE asked for a political favor:

AS SOLYNDRA PROBLEMS BEGAN TO LEAK, SOLYNDRA CEO WARNED DOE ON OCT. 25, 2010 THAT HE WOULD ANNOUNCE LAYOFFS ON OCT. 28: “Solyndra’s chief executive warned the Department of Energy on Oct. 25, 2010 that he intended to announce worker layoffs on Oct. 28. He said he was spurred by numerous calls from reporters and potential investors about rumors the firm was in financial trouble and was planning to lay off workers and close one of its two plants.” (Carol Leonnig, “Solyndra: Department of Energy ‘Pushed Hard’ for Company Not to Announce Layoffs Until after 2010 Mid-Term Elections,” The Washington Post, 11/15/2011)

NEWS OF PENDING SOLYNDRA LAYOFFS MADE IT TO TOP ECHELONS OF OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: “Harrison’s e-mail was forwarded to program director, Jonathan Silver, who then alerted White House climate change czar Carol Browner and Vice President Biden’s point person on stimulus, Ron Klain. Browner asked for more information about the announcement, and Chu’s chief of staff explained he had left a voice mail message on her cell phone.” (Carol Leonnig, “Solyndra: Department of Energy ‘Pushed Hard’ for Company Not to Announce Layoffs Until after 2010 Mid-Term Elections,” The Washington Post, 11/15/2011)

BUT OBAMA’S DOE PUSHED BACK, URGING A DELAY OF THE LAYOFF ANNOUNCEMENT UNTIL THE DAY AFTER THE ELECTION: “But in an Oct. 30, 2010 e-mail, advisers to Solyndra’s primary investor, Argonaut Equity, explain that the Energy Department had strongly urged the company to put off the layoff announcement until Nov. 3. The midterm elections were held Nov. 2, and led to Republicans taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives.” (Carol Leonnig, “Solyndra: Department of Energy ‘Pushed Hard’ for Company Not to Announce Layoffs Until after 2010 Mid-Term Elections,” The Washington Post, 11/15/2011)

DOE PRESSURE CAME AS SOLYNDRA WAS STILL DEPENDENT ON DOE FUNDING FOR THE SUBSEQUENT MONTH: ” ‘DOE continues to be cooperative and have indicated that they will fund the November draw on our loan (app. $40 million) but have not committed to December yet,’ a Solyndra investor adviser wrote Oct. 30. ‘They did push very hard for us to hold our announcement of the consolidation to employees and vendors to Nov. 3rd – oddly they didn‘t give a reason for that date.’ “(Carol Leonnig, “Solyndra: Department of Energy ‘Pushed Hard’ for Company Not to Announce Layoffs Until after 2010 Mid-Term Elections,” The Washington Post, 11/15/2011)

SOLYNDRA BUMPED ITS LAYOFF ANNOUNCEMENT TO NOV. 3, DAY AFTER ELECTION: “On Nov. 3, 2010, Solyndra announced it would lay off 40 workers and 150 contractors and shut down its Fab 1 factory.” (Carol Leonnig, “Solyndra: Department of Energy ‘Pushed Hard’ for Company Not to Announce Layoffs Until after 2010 Mid-Term Elections,”The Washington Post, 11/15/2011)

AND DOE HELD UP ITS PART OF THE BARGAIN DESPITE SOLYNDRA’S VIOLATIONS OF LOAN TERMS: “The department agreed to continue giving Solyndra installments of its federal loan despite the company’s failure to meet key terms of the loan, and in February restructured its loan to give investors a chance to recover $75 million in new money they put into the company before taxpayers would be repaid.” (Carol Leonnig, “Solyndra: Department of Energy ‘Pushed Hard’ for Company Not to Announce Layoffs Until after 2010 Mid-Term Elections,” The Washington Post, 11/15/2011)

Just days ago the White House accused congressional investigators demanding the release of all Solyndra documents of engaging in “partisan politics.” It appears now that it was members of the Obama administration engaging in a partisan political cover-up to hide their woeful lack of judgment in the Solyndra fiasco:

HYPOCRISY: WHITE HOUSE ENGAGING IN PARTISAN POLITICS ON SOLYNDRA RECENTLY DISMISSED SOLYNDRA SUBPOENA AS JUST “PARTISAN POLITICS”: ” ‘I can only conclude that your decision to issue a subpoena, authorized by a party line vote, was driven more by partisan politics than than a legitimate effort to conduct a responsible investigation,’ Ruemmler wrote.” (David Jackson, “Obama Lawyer: GOP Solyndra Request is Politics,” USA Today, 11/4/2011)

OBAMA CLAIMED SOLYNDRA “WENT THROUGH THE REGULAR REVIEW PROCESS”: “Obama has defended the Solyndra loan, which had been the poster child of the administration’s green jobs push, telling ABC News last month that ‘hindsight is always 20/20.’

” ‘It went through the regular review process, and people felt like this was a good bet,’ he said.” (Devin Dwyer, “For Sale: Banner that Greeted Obama at Solyndra,” ABC News, 11/2/2011)

“E-MAILS: RAHM PUSHED TO PROMOTE SOLYNDRA”: (Michael Kaplan, “E-mails: Rahm Pushed to Promote Solyndra,” NBC Chicago, 11/14/2011)

EMANUEL PRODDED BIDEN CHIEF ABOUT PLANNING SOLYNDRA EVENT DESPITE CONCERNS: “An e-mail from a White House official indicates Emanuel talked to Ron Klain, Biden’s chief of staff, to plan an event in summer 2009, despite concerns raised by White House environmental adviser Heather Zichal about Solyndra’s finances.” (Michael Kaplan, “E-mails: Rahm Pushed to Promote Solyndra,” NBC Chicago, 11/14/2011)

EMANUEL DENIED INVOLVEMENT, BUT EARLIER E-MAILS REVEALED THAT EMANUEL “MAY HAVE BEEN THE ONE EAGER TO SPOTLIGHT SOLYNDRA”: “In September, Emanuel denied any knowledge of the Solyndra loan to WLS Radio’s Bill Cameron. ‘I don’t actually remember that or know about it,’ Emanuel said. But e-mails from White House officials dumped in October revealed that Emanuel may have been the one eager to spotlight Solyndra in early 2009, despite concerns that the California company could be financially unstable.” (Michael Kaplan, “E-mails: Rahm Pushed to Promote Solyndra,” NBC Chicago, 11/14/2011)

TOP OBAMA BUNDLER GEORGE KAISER “WEIGHED ASKING WHITE HOUSE TO SAVE SOLYNDRA” AS IT WAS FAILING: “A key investor in the failed solar power company Solyndra, who was also a political donor to Barack Obama, strategized with his top executives about whether and how they should use their contacts inside the White House to help their failing business venture, according to emails surfaced by Congressional investigators Wednesday.” (Matthew Mosk, “Emails: Obama Donor Weighed Asking White House to Save Solyndra,” ABC News, 11/9/2011)

NOTHING TO SEE HERE, FOLKS: KAISER WAS SOLYNDRA’S BIGGEST INVESTOR AND PLOTTED TO GET WHITE HOUSE HELP TO GET SECOND STIMULUS LOAN AND GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS: “Solyndra’s biggest investor was a fund linked to the family foundation of George Kaiser, a Tulsa billionaire and bundler for Obama’s presidential campaign.

“Kaiser was involved in e-mail correspondence with his business colleagues about an upcoming White House meeting to get the administration’s help in selling its panels, and in seeking a second energy department loan, which if awarded would have been in addition to a $535 million loan the company received in 2009.” (Joe Stephens, “Solyndra E-mails Show Obama Fundraiser Discussed Lobbying White House,” The Washington Post, 11/9/2011)

E-MAILS CONTRADICT WHITE HOUSE DENIALS THAT KAISER’S 17 WHITE HOUSE MEETINGS EVER MENTIONED SOLYNDRA: “The document contradicts White House statements that Kaiser ‘never discussed Solyndra during any of his seventeen visits to the White House,’ Representatives Fred Upton of Michigan and Cliff Stearns of Florida, who are leading a congressional investigation into Solyndra’s collapse, said in a letter today to White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler.” (Jim Snyder, “Kaiser Spoke to White House About Solyndra,” Bloomberg, 11/9/2011)

OBAMA’S DOE “ALL BUT” TOLD SOLYNDRA THAT THEY WOULD BE FIRST IN LINE FOR A SECOND STIMULUS LOAN: (E-mail from Steve Mitchell to George Kaiser, U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, 3/5/2010, p. 3)