Obama White House Rebuffs Request for Solyndra Documents
Posted by Jim Hoft on Friday, November 4, 2011, 5:23 PM
On May 26, 2011, the White House posted this video praising Solyndra as a Recovery Act success story. In August, Barack Obama’s gleaming example of green technology – Solyndra – filed for bankruptcy. The solar panel manufacturer squandered $535 million of stimulus money in a little over a year.
Why Solyndra?
Top Obama bundler George Kaiser made multiple visits to the White House in the months before the company was granted a $535 million loan from the government. And top Solyndra officials also made numerous visits — 20 — to the White House, according to logs and reporting by The Daily Caller. Solyndra officials in the logs included chairman and founder Christian Gronet and board members Thomas Baruch and David Prend. The company secured the $535 million loan despite the fact that it was widely known Solyndra was in deep economic trouble and had negative cash flows since its inception.
Kaiser said he did not use political influence or talk to administration officials about a massive government loan to Solyndra. However, the Solyndra investor made multiple visits to the White House in the week before the Department of Energy approved a $535 million guaranteed loan to Solyndra on March 20, 2009
(Solyndra)
But, Barack Obama had no regrets.
In fact, Barack Obama was so impressed with the failed solar company that the administration wanted to give it another $469 million on top of the $535 million to make it an even billion dollars in taxpayer cash.
Today the Obama White House announced that it would not honor a subpoena and release all documents related the the $535 million Solyndra scandal to a House committee.
The AP reported:
The White House on Friday strongly rebuffed a subpoena from House Republicans seeking all communications about a failed solar panel manufacturer that received a half-billion dollar federal loan guarantee.
In a letter to two top Republicans on the House energy panel, White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler said the request “was driven more by partisan politics than a legitimate effort to conduct a responsible investigation.”
The White House and the Energy Department have already turned over 85,000 pages of documents on Solyndra Inc. The California-based company filed for bankruptcy and laid off 1,100 workers after receiving $528 million in federal backing.
Ruemmler said those documents show no wrongdoing or political favoritism by the administration. She added that curiosity alone is not a justification to encroach on the Executive Branch’s longstanding confidentiality interests.
House Republicans have used Solyndra to highlight what they see as President Barack Obama’s failure to create clean energy jobs. The company was the first to receive a federal loan guarantee under the 2009 stimulus law, which greatly expanded the program. Obama visited the company last year to praise it publicly.
Documents already obtained by the committee show that the administration knew the firm had problems, yet continued to support it.
On Thursday, a subcommittee of the energy panel voted on party lines to issue the subpoena, calling the White House “obstructionist.”
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Published May 23, 2012 at 4:57 am - 47 Comments
Henry D'Andrea commented:
What a joke.
Cee commented:
Failure to produce them all leaves one to assume that he is hiding something.
Jayne on the Left Coast commented:
Most transparent WH evaah!! The Repubs should play that sound bite over and over and compare with how secretive it actually is.
Diamond Girl commented:
I’m shocked, shocked I tell ya!
…anyone else expect different from the Dictator-in-Chief?!
progressoverpeace commented:
White House Counsel Kathryn Rommel said the request “was driven more by partisan politics than a legitimate effort to conduct a responsible investigation.”
Now, that is weapons-grade chutzpah!
YES WE CON! commented:
@#1 Henry D’Andrea
The REAL Joke is the GOP. They have Barry on a FELONY and are allowing him to slide.
Just 1 subpoena to Social Security Admin. Records, from Issa, ENDS the Kenyan Illegal Occupation of 1600 – http://www.ObamaReleaseYourRecords.blogspot.com/2011/09/failed-e-verify-letter-to-barack-obama.html
Instead, we are being PUNKED by The White House, because the GOP leadership live in perpetual fear of what the media will say about them.
Hailee commented:
I never realized the executive branch had so much power before barry gained messiah status. What happened to the series of “checks and balances?” Bush couldn’t wipe his ass before getting some kind of legislative approval. Repubs should remember this un-fettered power when they come into office,refer back to it to the MSFM and run with it.screw them
James commented:
Why hasn’t obama been impeached already.
Gregor commented:
GOP is made up of cowards. Issa is a fraud. He’s part of the problem. All of these so-called investigations and all they’ve brought out, yet … not a single arrest. Why is that.
It’s a sham! Those who continue to say the GOP is different are blind. The two party system is a sham designed to give you only two options, knowing that when you’re pissed off at one party, you’ll vote for the other and they’ll all remain in power either way. WAKE UP!
What are you going to do Issa? Anything? Or just give an angry worded response?
Eric Holder, Justice Minister commented:
James commented:
Why hasn’t obama been impeached already.
Because you are a nation of cowards. I’m still running Justice, after all. Sometimes I just sit in my office laughing my head off.
vagabond a-z trader III commented:
Bigger than Watergate and not one mainstream journalist has the curiosity or spine to investigate. We have been brought down by 3rd rate commies. How tragic.
Hailee commented:
#9 Gregor
You have to understand DC. Most of the population are Fed employees and are dems and repubs living next to each other and only care about their jobs. And the pols are the same
Gman commented:
Those who continue to say the GOP is different are blind
Well than go ahead and vote for Obama again.
Taqiyyotomist commented:
Ann Barnhardt says:
There WAS a law. There WAS a very, very strict law. WAS. Past tense. What we are seeing right now is what every single culture that has been conquered by Marxists has experienced: the elimination of the Rule of Law. This nation is no longer a nation of laws. It is a nation of men. The law no longer matters. All that matters is who you are and who you know. Jon Corzine is part of the Marxist-Obamaist cabal, and therefore laws do not apply to him.
Further, the government that you, up until now, have turned to in order to enforce the Rule of Law is now itself the entity that is stealing from you. In other words, there is absolutely NO ONE to turn to for law enforcement because the is no Rule of Law. Technically, your County Sheriff chould have jurisdiction over this, but in reality if your County Sheriff made any move toward enforcing the law and holding Jon Corzine or any of the rest to account, your County Sheriff would himself be removed, arrested or killed by the lawless Marxist-Obamaist regime.
Do you understand now? Do you understand the gravity of what is happening? Let me tell you about the Ukraine in the early 1930s. Stalin was ruling the Soviet Union with an iron fist, and wanted to get rid of the Ukrainian population which he deemed a threat to his power. Beginning in 1931, local Soviet administrators began refusing to provide the Ukrainian farmers with seed wheat. The farmers, watching the planting window close rapidly, were eventually BEGGING the Soviet administrators and central planners for seed. None was ever provided. When the next harvest came around, the Soviet administrators demanded full-quota harvest production from the Ukrainian farmers. The stunned and livid farmers reminded the Soviets that they had refused to give them any seed at planting time, and thus there was no crop. The Soviets then accused the farmers of hiding and hoarding the wheat harvest from them. The men and working-aged boys were summarily executed on the spot as “counterrevolutionaries”. The women and children were left to starve. Cannibalism set in, and many mothers, driven insane with hunger, killed and ate their children. By the end of 1933, millions of Ukranians, both urban and peasant farmers, were dead of a manufactured and completely unnecessary mass starvation, with estimates ranging from 3-5 million dead.
“How can they do this to us? How can they get away with this? Surely there must be someone we can report them to. Surely there is someone who will help us.”
Not in a Marxist state. Marxists will rape you and rob you blind and then kill you when you don’t display your undying gratitude to them for doing it, and beg them for more. The MF Global victims are learning this lesson right now. Sadly, I fear that what happened to MF is going to eventually become systemic via outright theft and confiscation, and via inflation, which will render all assets held in U.S. dollars essentially worthless. And because this is all being done willfully and consciously by your own Federal Government, there will be no one to turn to to “make it right” or to enforce the Rule of Law.
http://barnhardt.biz scroll down to “W.R.O.L.”
YES WE CON! commented:
What is exactly is the purpose of the so-called ‘Alternative Media’ when they choose to ignore the same news as the MSM?
Case in point: 2 woman have come forward and spoken out, already. Only these 2 women, Susan Daniels and Linda Jordan, have provided documentation of a decades long Felony, committed by Obama. Here is an interview with Linda Jordan. This Patriot took it who took it upon herself to run Barry’s indentity info. through the Feds ‘E-Verify’ system. He FAILED – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoHpg602-MA
Imagine if only half as much time was spent on exposing this FRAUD, as was spent on “Weinergate.”
Hailee commented:
And I thought the Larry Sinclair story was disturbing!…lol
usamopatriot commented:
Taqiyyotomist
Stalin didn’t try that on a free and heavily armed public.
gosh! commented:
Anointed-One…………what about your “Constitutional duties” ?…………………Republicans hold the purse-strings need to cut off all monies ………….Obama thinks his some third-world dict-a-tor……………republicans need to start treating him as such……………. cut off the money
SOB commented:
James commented:
“Why hasn’t obama been impeached already.”
Because the absolute only thing the process will do is get him reelected!
Look ask yourself 3 questions
1) is Harry Ried’s Senate going to give 66 “conviction” votes to get him out of office? If not, even if the House did so, he stays in the White House
2) Ken Starrs investigation of Clinton started in Jan 98 and the actual votes took place in Dec 98-Feb 99 – roughly 12 months later. You want an impeachment vote a little over a month after a Solyndra investigation starts though; and before they really know what evidence they can even come up with? I mean, isnt that what the whole “subpena” thing is about to begin with – getting evidence?
3) If an investigation and trial will likely end sometime a little short of a year from now, and it wont get through the Senate (in its current configuration) to get him out of office anyway, how well do you think the “poor Obama, who was singled out for impeachment by the racist House” is going to fare in the election? I mean, what is it, exactly 12 months away now? Convenient timing…
Look, the absolute best bet to get him out of office is the Election. Over the next year however, as much evidence as possible should be gathered so they can be in a position to even bring impeachment hearings quickly if desired. The pure scandal of it prior to election means the media cant cover up such investigations, and the MSM will have a hard time white-washing crony capitalism and/or gun running (and who knows what else) investigations in the months right before an election. But it also means the House will be able to quickly bring charges just before or after the election; on the off chance he gets reelected.
To try to bring impeachment hearings now, so far before the election, would just be a huge waste of time and effort and is probably the single best way to get him reelected as his “supporters” will energize like crazy if not a single Democrat in either house votes for impeachment right before an election. Unless you have a clear-cut, absolutely cant deny, horrible disregard for laws that upwards of 18 Democrats will vote for in the Senate, then zero point what-so-ever in bringing it to that step prior to at least Sept-Nov 2012…
Molon Labe commented:
Its Bush’s fault. Politico announced today that it had new details that Herman Cain is responsible for the questionable energy loans according to its super secret unidentified source.
Impeach the lawless Kenyan!
Greg commented:
Getting Sarah Palin’s emails was important! This? You partisan RAAAACISTS!!! It’s Obama money so shut up!
kato commented:
The stench emanating from 1600 grows stronger by the day.
Patty commented:
ot
Deranged Wall St. Occupier Goes On Rampage
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2011/11/deranged-wall-st-occupier-goes-on-rampage.php
Blacque Jacques Shellacque commented:
Time to initiate legal proceedings.
Whichever way this goes, some very ugly things about this administration will probably come to light. The interesting part is finding out how many Democrats actually have a shred of integrity left.
Patty commented:
OT
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/breaking-issa-grassley-digging-into-fast-and-furious-leaks
Breaking: Issa, Grassley digging into Fast and Furious leaks
Congressman Darrell Issa and Senator Charles Grassley are looking to plug leaks in their on-going investigation of Operation Fast and Furious, and today sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder demanding answers about how sensitive information was available on a shared network computer drive that was accessible to more than 75 people.
Among those people were 24 Justice Department employees including six employees of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and more than 50 other people inlcuding “contractor staff (who) had access to portions of the shared network drive at varioius times, though most of these individuals never had access to the folder containing records that were produced or made available to” either Issa’s House committee or Grassley’s Senate committee, the letter said.
One of the leaked documents “contained information protected under the Privacy Act regarding ATF whistleblower John Dodson’s participation in an undercover law enforcement operation,” the Issa/Grassley letter states.” Dodson was one of the first whistleblowers to come forward in the case, and he was interviewed by CBS News earlier this year.
More on site. I suppose my last OT.
L.E. Liesner commented:
From the most corrupt administration in the history of this country, the White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler says the documents show no wrong doing. And we should take that as gospel. If there is no wrong doing, why are they reluctant to let those documents see some daylight. More of the same lies, the truth sure as hell ain’t going to set these crooks free quite the contrary.
Patty commented:
Obama’s treatment of his administration is covered. Covering up and using his position in the White House for what we all see as a very dangerous and provocative manner.
Obama’s has been working so hard to figure out ways to fix some serious and wasteful spending and scandals that will not go away, through is own making.
Instead of the economy or jobs. Obama’s job at this moment is Economy and working to fix it. And the only way this will ever be attained is with Congress’s help. And that just isn’t going to happen because he can’t find it in his character to be productive in any way with working with Republicans.
Obama has a problem apologizing for HIS actions. But he finds it very easy to apologize for Bush. The strangest thing and the most simple thing for him to possibly win the election would be to admit his mistakes and try to work with Congress and not against them.
But Obama is so stubborn and has his head so far is up his __ he is incapable of bi-partisanship. He is a child in a man’s suit. I believe once out of Office he will have serious legal issues and the facts will then be exposed on the real Obama.
befuddled commented:
This is exactly the reason why Solyndra declared bankruptcy now rather than in 2012. First, this corrupt company went into business, not to make a profit or ever see black ink; they went into the business to sell political unicorns and rainbows. Never mind that Spain had tried it before and failed miserably. And never mind that China has far cheaper labor and manufacturing capability.(Needless to say, it was also a Union manufactured welfare corporation– a sinkhole to toss money into so the President can have a nice background for his job speeches.) Secondly,let’s not forget that after burning through 500 million, Solyndra went begging for more money. This company couldn’t wait to be kept afloat with a host of government agencies that were directed to by up its product at the cost to taxpayers of $600 million. It must be nice if you’re a Democrat fundraiser under Obama. All you have to do is stroll into the White House and tell Obama you need money to start up a “green company” that will hire a lot of Union Labor. Never mind that your company will be manufacturing $100,000 “green” hammers that can’t compete with a WalMart $2 hammer.
With a Democrat Senate and Presidency, they knew any credible criminal investigation could be forestalled. This is why this election in 2012 is even more important. If America doesn’t change course in 2012, we will be buried under the avalanche of Chicago style corruption.
Texas_Treeroach commented:
It sucks to get caught.
gosh! commented:
#28 BING…………everything that you said is head-on………….but my concern is are we going to be able to remove him out-of -office……………….my worse night-mare has long pass, we now have a president whom doesn’t answer to anyone………..who makes his own rules and uses the constitution against its own people or only when it suits his needs……..a congress that has not the well or power to stop him…….the press who sold itself out to highest bidder……….the list goes on and on ………….
Simsalabim commented:
I wonder how that Carnahan wind farm is fairing in northeast Missouri. Probably needs another $90 million or so I think. By the way, I haven’t heard a peep out of Rusty in a long time.
saveus commented:
Which is it?
Obama and Co.are totally corupt or totally incompetent?
pedro infante commented:
is rebuff the right word ? or should it be buff ?
D Roamer commented:
The old “Executive Privilege” , which I believe President Nixon used. Send the marshals in to get all the documents, cannot do that to the president. A standoff, but a sure indication that Obama is hiding evidence.
What to do, but wait for Jan. 21, 2013.
Molon Labe commented:
#36
Impeach the clown. Force the Dhimmies to defend him and watch the public vote out the entire dhimmierat party where ever there lives a halfway honest and sane citizen. This excludes California, Massachusetts, Vermont and Illinois. There must be something in the water in those states.
Highlander commented:
What right do they have to refuse this subpoena? National security? No ….
We have a dictator in the White House, who’s corrupt to the bone. Time to impeach him …
Greg commented:
Time to hold a trial for a couple examples
Ivan commented:
The White House can only use Executive Privilege when the matter involves national security. Bill Clinton tried but failed using Executive Privilege in the Lewinsky scandal. Clinton’s sexual encounters were not considered a matter of national security. In all likelihood, the Solyndra scandal, with the government’s loan guarantees, won’t be a national security issue either.
I hope the GOP doesn’t let up on this. Sadly they won’t have the liberal media to help them.
eaglewingz08 commented:
So it now will be ok for a republican white house to reject democrap subpoenas by using the excuse nowhere found in law that the request is a partisan political ploy and not a “real investigation”.
Comanche Voter commented:
Obama to Congress—you’ll get those documents on the 33rd day of February next year–and not a day before or a day after.
HighKomissar commented:
Every passing day the Obama Regime is becoming more determined to overthrow our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and our Economy. Just a few days ago the Russians (Putin) went on world wide press supporting Obama for re-election..that’s right. They want their little Communist panda to be re-elected to finish off the USA. The Congress sits on their hands and tucks down their heads, hoping the voting public won’t NOTICE that they do NOTHING…..oh we notice, and we remember….. they will not be re-elected period…