I write on the homepage today about the embarrassing (at least for President Obama and other true believers in the “green economy”) downfall of Solyndra, the California-based solar panel company that filed for bankruptcy last week, despite having received more than $500 million in federally guaranteed loans:
Speaking at the Solyndra plant in Fremont, Calif., in May 2010, President Obama expounded on the federal government’s role in the company’s success: “Less than a year ago, we were standing on what was an empty lot. But through the Recovery Act, this company received a loan to expand its operations. This new factory is the result of those loans.” That loan was for $535 million, and was guaranteed by the federal government. A year later, the factory is empty, and 1,100 workers are out of a job.
But the unfortunate saga is unlikely to end there. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that FBI agents executed search warrants at Solyndra’s plant in Fremont, Calif., this morning:
The search is part of a joint investigation involving the FBI and the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General, said FBI spokeswoman Julianne Sohn, who declined to elaborate.
Solyndra closed its doors on Aug. 31. It did so without warning and without WARN, a state and federal law requiring advance notice of a large layoff or shutdown. The company has said it was most likely exempt from notifying its 900 full-time and 200 contract workers ahead of time under a loophole in the law, officially known as the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act.
Solyndra’s former employees are now suing the company on these grounds. So, as much as the Obama administration would like this story to fade into the background, that doesn’t seem very likely at this point.
UPDATE: A reader writes in with some interesting speculation:
As a lawyer who has done a fair amount of defense work, it strikes me as more than possible that someone tipped off Solyndra that they were under investigation and that the hammer was about to drop. Hence the quick meltdown and door-shutting. Just a hunch, but it seems likely, particularly given their connection to the administration and the fact that the Energy Department’s IG was doing the investigation.
Oops, looks like someone in the FBI didn't run the warrant request by Holder's office first. Unemployment's going to be up by a few more.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNope, trust me, Holder approved this.
Just don't be surprised when we learn that the company closed because of "embezzlement" by someone who will turn out to be a GOP donor.
This investigation isn't about wrong-doing but cover-up.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe company location is (was) "Fremont", named after John Charles Frémont, "the Great Pathfinder."
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYou beat me to it. Good job.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt's ironic that after the Dept. of Energy gave the money to Solyndra it is now leading the investigation into Solyndra. Shouldn't the Dept. of Energy wash its hands of this fiasco and let the FBI do the investigating?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'm not a lawyer, but I believe that the Office of Inspector General for any agency operates pretty autonomously from not only their "parent" agency, but from the DoJ as well.
They will investigate (with the help of the FBI usually to execute warrants) and then they'll file a report. That report will go to the parent organization (Energy in this case) and also to DoJ. DoJ will then decide whether or not the report merits further investigation and possible criminal and/or civil prosecution.
I understand the point you're making, but I think that the OIG has a legal obligation to investigate if they suspect wrong doing, like misappropriation of funds and aren't permitted to just turn over the investigation to DoJ or FBI. It's tough to investigate misappropriation before funds are appropriated, which is why OIG isn't involved before the fact, only after the fact.
It's also possible that the FBI is investigating concurrently and independently of the OIG.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseTesla is next. Tesla's part of the funding scam was ten times bigger and 30 times worse. Expect subpoenas of Tesla and their crony's Kleiner-perkins, Matt Rogers, MCKinsey consulting and more. You won't believe how big this is gonna get. See more at
External Link
(ok to repost)
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThat's $486,000+ per lost job.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseChris is right, The DOE IS the criminal here. Only the FBI should be doing this.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI wonder if they showed up with guns drawn the way they did at the Gibson Guitar plants in Tennessee? Or is that privilege reserved only for non-Obama donors?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI was listening to the Mark Levin show last night on the way home from work and he was talking with a lady who worked at the plant. She claimed that *before any of the money was spent* they all knew that recent developments by Chinese producers would make their product economically nonviable. Essentially they all knew that it was throwing money in a pit. This was before Obama (or was it Biden?) made his speech at the plant.
I haven't had time to follow up on this but if true it will be very stinky for the administration.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe controversy here is that DOE lied about doing due diligence and passed Solyndra through while intentionally delaying others that competed with DOE's officers business interests. The DOE could have safely diversified its bets with 40 small america business applicants but they blew the money on a few inside special interest applicants who paid lobby money while freezing out those small American businesses and jobs:
The site: External Link
shows that:
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse- Only campaign contributors received funding from the DOE ATVM and Loan programs and competitors to those interests were frozen out.
- Key White House staff were informed of the misdeeds but they covered them up.
- A criminally illegal protection investor money racket was being run by individuals in, and around, the DOE funding programs, Detroit and Goldman Sachs.
- Detroit ordered all competing efforts killed off or permanently delayed.
This is an attempt to suppress evidence. Now that a "criminal investigation" is supposedly underway, Solyndra and the DoE and DoJ can stop any information from being presented to the House investigation into this sleazy dealing. A year or so down the line, the DoE report will come out, and DoJ will decline to do anything about it.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe green companyis downfall, in Califirnia, had to do with a referendum that was passed here. People didn't really know what they were voting for, as usual, and passed a refendum that hurt those comapnies. It was predicted that if the referendum passed the companies would go belly up.
The probelm is that most voters only ready a little bit (the first couple of lines) about what referendum & such do & what the effect is if passed.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYou mean like the Health Care reform bill that was passed without even the democrats (and I would suspect, Obama) reading it? That's even worse, since it affects everyone in the country.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat a fiasco this last two plus years have been and truly the back room deals are all coming to light. There will be quite a spelling of the people/groups of campaign contributers, names that regular citizens could not acquire. 1/4 of a billion to win the last POTUS position and now we will know who the real players are.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf the DoJ has the final decision to follow through with an investigation and prior to this two Republicans on the DoE had requested investigation into the $535 million "loan" from Obama Admin then what's obvious is, the DoJ will drop their interest in the investigation. This service of warrants etc was only a stunt to feign concern over the appearance of wrongdoing. What seems so obvious, knowing the tactics of this Administration and the DoJ is that they will do whatever it takes to destroy any evidence which reflects poorly on "the One". In other words, a cover-up.
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