Research Briefing

Obama’s Energy Secretary Testifies Before Congress On Solyndra Today, Continuing To Claim That They Did Their Due Diligence Despite All Evidence To The Contrary

“Energy Secretary Steven Chu Will Face Off With Republicans On The House Energy And Commerce Committee This Week Over The Obama Administration’s $535 Million Loan Guarantee To The Failed Solar Company Solyndra.” (Energy Secretary Steven Chu, “My Testimony to the House Energy and Commerce Committee,” Energy Department, 11/16/11)

CHU CLAIMS THAT SOLYNDRA WAS FULLY VETTED

Secretary Steven Chu Claims That “Solyndra Was Subject To Proper, Rigorous Scrutiny And Healthy Debate During Every Phase Of The Process.” “As you know, the Department has consistently cooperated with the Committee’s investigation, providing more than 186,000 pages of documents, appearing at hearings, and briefing or being interviewed by Committee staff eight times. As this extensive record has made clear, the loan guarantee to Solyndra was subject to proper, rigorous scrutiny and healthy debate during every phase of the process.” (Carolyn Lochhead, “Energy Dept. Releases Excerpts Of Steven Chu’s Testimony,” San Francisco Chronicle, 11/16/11)

But The Government Accountability Office Disagrees

Government Accountability Office:  “The Administration Didn’t Do Its Due Diligence” On The $535 Million Loan For Solyndra. “It's not his statements the administration will regret; it's the loan guarantees. The President was celebrating $535 million in federal promises from the Department of Energy to the solar startup. The administration didn't do its due diligence, says the Government Accountability Office. ‘There's a consequence if you don't follow a rigorous process that's transparent,’ Franklin Rusco of GAO told the website iWatch News.”(Scott McGrew, “Solyndra Filing A Disaster For Obama,“ NBC Bay Area News, 8/31/11)

• DOE’s Inspector General Found That The Loan Guarantee Program Couldn’t Always Demonstrate That They Resolved The Companies’ Risks Before Giving Out The Loans. “Concerns about the program and its risk controls were raised several times by the Energy Department's inspector general, Gregory Friedman. In a March 2011 report, Mr. Friedman said his office ‘found that the Loan Guarantee Program could not always readily demonstrate, through systematically organized records, including contemporaneous notes, how it resolved or mitigated relevant risks prior to granting loan guarantees.’ A report in 2009 also faulted the loan-guarantee program's controls.” (Deborah Solomon, “Solyndra Said To Have Violated Terms Of Its US Loan,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/28/11)

THE FACTS ARE THAT SOLYNDRA’S LITANY OF WARNING SIGNS WERE IGNORED

 “[A]gain And Again, The Obama Administration Pressed Forth In Support Of Solyndra In The Face Of Glaring Warning Signs Sent Up From Even Its Own Staffers.” (Ronnie Greene And Matthew Mosk, “Obama Administration Agreed To Solyndra Loan Days After Insiders Foresaw Firm's Failure,” iWatch News, 9/14/11)

“[O]bama’s Energy Department Pressed Forth In The Face Of Abundant Red Flags In Awarding Its Maiden Green Energy Financing.” “An iWatch News dissection of the financing – based on records, interviews and documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act – shows that Obama’s Energy Department pressed forth in the face of abundant red flags in awarding its maiden green energy financing. Money approved – even as outside rating agencies assessed the company as speculative.” (Ronnie Greene, “Recurring Red Flags Failed To Slow Obama Administration's Race To Help Solyndra,” iWatch News, 9/13/11)

OMB Had “Deep Reservations” About The Solyndra Loan. “The emails also show deep reservations from analysts at the Office of Management and Budget about the decision to loan $535 million to Solyndra -- reservations that have since been justified.” (Matthew Mosk And Ronnie Greene, “Obama on Solyndra: 'Hindsight Is Always 20/20,'” ABC News, 10/3/11) 

March 10, 2009: WH Budget Analyst Said Solyndra Is “NOT Ready For Prime Time” “‘This deal is not ready for prime time,’ one White House budget analyst wrote in a March 10, 2009 email, nine days before the administration formally announced the loan.” (Matthew Mosk, Brian Ross And Ronnie Greene, “Emails: Obama White House Monitored Huge Loan to 'Connected' Firm,” ABC News & iWatch News, 9/13/11)

Obama’s Energy Department Knew In August Of 2009 That Solyndra Would Run Out Of Money In September 2011, Leaving Taxpayers On The Hook. “On August 20, 2009, an Energy Department staffer examining a pending loan to a California clean energy start-up came to a startling conclusion: The company would run out of money by September 2011. The government would, in effect, be placing taxpayers on the hook for a business likely to founder.” (Ronnie Greene And Matthew Mosk, “Obama Administration Agreed To Solyndra Loan Days After Insiders Foresaw Firm's Failure,” iWatch News, 9/14/11)

• “Still, Things Moved – And Fast.” (Ronnie Greene And Matthew Mosk, “Obama Administration Agreed To Solyndra Loan Days After Insiders Foresaw Firm's Failure,” iWatch News, 9/14/11)

The White House Pushed For Faster Reviews And Heavy Political Involvement…

OMB Was Frustrated That The White House Was Pressuring Them On The Solyndra Loan Sign-Off. “In the e-mails, officials at the Office of Management and Budget expressed frustration that they were being put under time pressure to sign off on the loan to the company, Solyndra, two years ago so that Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. could announce its approval at a groundbreaking for a factory.” (Matthew L. Wald And Charlie Savage, “Furor Over Loans To Failed Solar Firm,” The New York Times, 9/14/11)

An Obama Fundraiser, Who Obama Hired To Help Oversee The Loan Guarantee Program, Pushed For Solyndra Approval Even As His Wife’s Law Firm Was Representing The Company.  “An elite Obama fundraiser hired to help oversee the administration's energy loan program pushed and prodded career Department of Energy officials to move faster in approving a loan guarantee for Solyndra, even as his wife's law firm was representing the California solar company, according to internal emails made public late Friday.” (Matthew Mosk, “Obama Fundraiser Pushed Solyndra Deal From Inside,” ABC News, 10/7/11)

• Steve Spinner: “I Have OVP And WH Breathing Down My Neck On This.” "’How hard is this? What is he waiting for?’ wrote Steven J. Spinner, a high-tech consultant and energy investor who raised at least $500,000 for the candidate before being appointed to a key job helping oversee the energy loan guarantee program. ‘I have OVP [the Office of the Vice President] and WH [the White House] breathing down my neck on this.’"(Matthew Mosk, “Obama Fundraiser Pushed Solyndra Deal From Inside,” ABC News, 10/7/11)

• Spinner Pushed For Solyndra Loan To Give A “Political Victory” To Obama. “In the lengthy email discussions that occurred in the days before the Solyndra loan closed in September 2009, Spinner emerges as a key figure in advocating for getting the deal done, apparently in an effort to score the loan as a political victory for President Obama. Many of the emails surround his efforts to coordinate plans for either President Obama or Vice President Biden to announce it as the administration's first loan approval -- one that he repeatedly notes will create clean energy jobs.” (Matthew Mosk, “Obama Fundraiser Pushed Solyndra Deal From Inside,” ABC News, 10/7/11)

Newly Released Emails Show Rahm Emanuel Was The One To Suggest The Event Touting Solyndra. “The emails state then-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was the official who suggested the administration hold an event touting Solyndra in connection with loan approval, the memos show.” (Daniel Stone, “White House releases New Solyndra Emails Amid Congress Subpoena Fight,” The Daily Beast, 11/11/11)

• “POTUS’s Involvement Was Rahm’s Idea.” “‘[Klain] has talked to Rahm about this and feels Rahm wants this too (barring any concerns)—POTUS’s involvement was Rahm’s idea,’ Aditya Kumar, a White House director of special projects, wrote in an email to other officials in August 2009.” (Daniel Stone, “White House releases New Solyndra Emails Amid Congress Subpoena Fight,” The Daily Beast, 11/11/11)

And Listened To Campaign Bundlers Instead Of The Marketplace

Solyndra Investor: “The DOE Really Thinks Politically Before It Thinks Economically.” “‘The DOE really thinks politically before it thinks economically and in a conversation today with [name redacted] he confirmed this (he knows Jonathan Silver – head of the DOE loan program,’ states a Dec. 7, 2010, e-mail from Steve Mitchell, managing director of venture-capital firm Argonaut and a member of Solyndra’s board of directors, to George Kaiser, an Oklahoma oil billionaire who bundled campaign donations for presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008. Kaiser founded Argonaut, which is the major investor in Solyndra.”  (Amy Harder, “QUICK TAKE: E-mails Suggest DOE Put Politics Above Economics With Solyndra,” National Journal, 11/16/11)

Industry Officials Say Solyndra Was “A Bad Egg With A Bad Business Plan.” “Solar and wind industry officials insist Solyndra — the recipient of $535 million in federal loan guarantees and a personal visit from President Barack Obama — is just a bad egg with a bad business plan.” (Darren Samuelsohn, “Solyndra Scandal A PR Nightmare,” Politico, 9/12/11)

 “George Kaiser, The Billionaire Investor And Fundraiser For President Barack Obama, Discussed Solyndra LLC In A Meeting With Administration Officials, According To An E-Mail Released Today.” (Jim Snyder, “Kaiser Spoke To White House About Solyndra,” Bloomberg, 11/9/11)

• “The Emails Are Between George Kaiser, A Fundraiser For President Barack Obama, And Two Officials With His Venture Capital Firm Argonaut Private Equity, And The George Kaiser Family Foundation.”(Roberta Rampton, “Investor, White House Discussed Solyndra Loan-Emails,” Reuters, 11/9/11)
• Kaiser Has Visited The White House At Least 16 Times, And Raised Between $50,000 and $100,000 For Obama In 2008. “Records also show that Oklahoma billionaire George Kaiser has visited the White House 16 times and has raised between $50,000 and $100,000 for Obama’s 2008 campaign. He has publicly denied lobbying on Solyndra’s behalf.” (John Rossomando, “Solyndra To Daily Caller In February: ‘The Federal Government Has Not Spend A Dime On Solyndra,’” The Daily Caller,9/16/11)

The Kaiser Emails Directly Contradict The Obama Administration’s “Repeated Assurance” That Kaiser Did Not Play A Role In The Solyndra Loan Guarantee. “Emails released by a House committee appear to show that a major donor to President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign discussed with White House officials a federal loan to a failed California solar company. That's despite repeated assurances by Obama administration officials that the donor, George Kaiser, didn't discuss the loan with the White House.” (Matthew Daly, “Obama Donor Discussed Solar Loan With White House,” The Associated Press, 11/9/11)

In February 2010 Kaiser Family Foundation Executive Director Emailed The Managing Director Of Argonaut Private Equity About Solyndra. “In a Feb. 27, 2010 email, Ken Levit, executive director of the George Kaiser Family Foundation, described reaction from unnamed officials in Vice President Joe Biden's office during a meeting about stimulus funding to Steve Mitchell, managing director of Argonaut.” (Roberta Rampton, “Investor, White House Discussed Solyndra Loan-Emails,” Reuters, 11/9/11)

• “‘They About Had An Orgasm In Biden's Office When We Mentioned Solyndra,’ Levit Wrote.” (Roberta Rampton, “Investor, White House Discussed Solyndra Loan-Emails,” Reuters, 11/9/11)