clearvision Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 New York Times:A senior Energy Department official pushed hard for the government’s $535 million loan to the California solar energy company Solyndra even after he had disclosed that his wife’s law firm represented the company and promised to recuse himself from matters related to its loan application, according to e-mails released by federal officials on Friday. The official, Steven J. Spinner, a senior member of the Energy Department’s loan guarantee oversight office and a 2008 Obama fund-raiser, inquired frequently about the progress of the Solyndra loan, urging the White House Office of Management and Budget to move more quickly on approving it. He also communicated directly with Solyndra officials who were anxiously awaiting an announcement from Washington that their loan would be approved.“Any word on OMB?” he asked another Energy Department loan officer. “Even Solyndra’s getting nervous.” -------Worse and worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clearvision Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 New York Times has the story above and now Washington Post hits with another: Push to highlight Solyndra came from top levels of White House, according to e-mails “Ron said this morning that the POTUS definitely wants to do this (or Rahm definitely wants the POTUS to do this?),” one White House staffer told an Obama scheduler on Aug. 17, 2009, referring to Ron Klain, former chief of staff for Vice President Joe Biden. The correspondence suggests that, at the most senior levels and down the chain, the fledgling Obama administration had significant interest in using the loan to highlight progress under the Recovery Act. The e-mails were produced as part of a congressional probe and provided by a government source Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rheo Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 More now from The Hill and AP. Could be the same info but thought what the heck... The report on White House emails sheds new light on the role of a former fundraiser for President Obama in seeking financing for the solar company Solyndra. From AP: An Energy Department adviser and former fundraiser for President Barack Obama pushed to make sure that a California solar company got a half-billion federal loan, despite pledging to recuse himself because his wife's law firm represented the company. 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. Solyndra collapsed several weeks ago, prompting multiple probes into the $535 million loan guarantee it received in 2009 and the restructuring of the deal early this year. An Energy Department spokesman told The Hill that Spinner’s advocacy for finalizing the Solyndra loan was not inappropriate even though his wife’s firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati – represented the company. Report: Fundraiser for Obama pushed loan help for Solyndra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clearvision Posted October 8, 2011 Author Share Posted October 8, 2011 From Politico: Link “We are hearing increasingly dire news about Solyndra and have asked DOE for information on this with no response,” Miller wrote on Aug. 16. The next day, Miller complained that DOE wasn’t providing enough information about what was happening at Solyndra. “Since July of 2010 Treasury has asked DOE for briefings on Solyndra’s financial condition and any restructuring of terms,” Miller wrote in an email to Jeffrey Zients, deputy director for management and chief performance officer at OMB. “The only information we have received about this has been through OMB, as DOE has not responded to any requests for information about Solyndra. Our legal counsel believes that the statute and the DOE regulations both require that the guaranteed loan should not be subordinate to any loan or other debt obligation. The DOE regulations also state that DOE shall consult with OMB and Treasury before any ‘deviation’ is granted from the financial terms of the Loan Guarantee Agreement. In February we requested in writing that DOE seek the Department of Justice’s approval of any proposed restructuring. To our knowledge that has never happened.” ---- Quite a dump of info on a Friday afternoon/night. Looks like the big problem here is the DOE rewrote the terms of the loan (apparently illegally) screwing the taxpayer this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Reuters: Congress watchdog probes solar loans after Solyndra Roberta Rampton Oct 10, 2011 (Reuters) - A top Republican congressional watchdog wants the Energy Department to turn over documents and emails about $4.7 billion in loan guarantees for four solar projects approved right before a Sept 30 deadline. The last-minute approvals of the projects raise fears that "the evaluation of loan guarantees may have been rushed in order to meet a deadline," said Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, in a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Issa and other Republicans in the House of Representatives have pushed to highlight concerns about a loan guarantee to Solyndra, a failed solar panel manufacturer that has filed for bankruptcy and is being investigated by the FBI. (Snip) My My My...Darrell certainly is a busy little beaver! Well they say busy hands are happy hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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