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House subpoenas White House for Solyndra documents

Renae

Renae

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Showing a growing frustration with the the Obama administration, congressional Republicans on Thursday authorized their second subpoena this week, demanding White House documents related to failed solar technology company Solyndra.By a 14-9 party-line vote the Energy and Commerce Committee’s investigative subcommittee authorized issuing a subpoena for any White House documents related to Solyndra, which received renewable energy loan guarantees under President Obama’s stimulus program. The request for documents could include details of the president’s own travel and communications.Democrats said it was “unprecedented” to subpoena documents from the president’s executive office like this, but Republicans said they’ve run out of patience with White House “stalling.”
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House subpoenas White House for Solyndra documents - Washington Times

This little scandal is just getting started. Wait till the WH claims executive privilege and kicks off a court battle.

So much for "most transparent administration in history.
 
Is it really unprecedented to ask for this kind of information? I'm a little young for Watergate (and hell, even Monicagate, really), but weren't some pretty heavy investigations into WH communications, e-mails, and conversations performed during those situations??
 
Ok, I hope the white house turns over the documents. Not really sure what they're searching for though. This seems to be the biggest non-scandal scandal that I can think of. Hell the process of giving these loans to solyndra started on the Bush administration through a loan guarantee program created in 2005 under a republican congress and a republican president. As of yet I haven't seen any evidence that Obama or his administration benefited in any way from this mess. Seems more like Republicans in the house just would be very happy to waste time on a non-issue rather than actually work towards anything productive.
 
I bet the house's aproval ratings go up, up, up.

I bet we find out theres more than just Solyndra.

And as for "unpresidented" subpoenas.. Just who the F does the president work for again? WE THE PEOPLE. Cough it up buddy.
 
Crony capitalism at Team BO....I am shocked I tell you, shocked!

BO will claim executive priviledge and the good stuff will never surface. His administration is as transparent as a lead bar.
 
I am by no stretch of the imagination a fan of President Obama, but this one strikes as a poor move to me. I think this one was really just an honest screw up. Further, I don't think it's an unusually bad one. He was campaigning on companies like this and chose a bad one to put in the forefront. It's likely that nothing new will be discovered and it will be dubbed a witch hunt. The administration is ready for this move.
 
Keridan said:
I am by no stretch of the imagination a fan of President Obama, but this one strikes as a poor move to me. I think this one was really just an honest screw up. Further, I don't think it's an unusually bad one. He was campaigning on companies like this and chose a bad one to put in the forefront. It's likely that nothing new will be discovered and it will be dubbed a witch hunt. The administration is ready for this move.
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And was the other bankrupt company just a screw-up as well?

An energy company that received a $43 million loan guarantee through the same federal program that backed Solyndra has followed the path of the failed solar firm and filed for bankruptcy. Beacon Power Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The company, which develops energy storage systems based on what are known as "flywheels," had received the federal guarantee for a 20-megawatt energy storage plant in Stephentown, N.Y., back in August 2010. The loan was expected to cover the lion's share of the $69 million project, one of several that Beacon was developing across the country. (snip)

Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., who sits on the House Energy and Commerce oversight subcommittee probing the program, said the news about Beacon Power is troubling. "We're very, very concerned about this and many other loans that have been made by the Department of Energy over the last several years," he told Fox News on Monday. Griffith said plenty of companies in the U.S. would make "good prospects" for federal help, but the committee investigation is trying to find out whether the government was "just trying to get the money out the door." Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, called the revelation of the bankruptcy another example of "the reckless abuse of taxpayers' dollars in the pursuit of green jobs." He also suggested that crony capitalism had a hand in the decision to give Beacon a loan.

Read more: Another Energy Company Goes Bankrupt, $39 Million Borrowed From Taxpayers | Fox News
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And that the second infusion of cash to this company included a deal to subordinate the loan guarantee to company investors?

Where's my gas mask?
 
MaggieD said:
And was the other bankrupt company just a screw-up as well?

Two parts to my answer. One is that this subject is Solyndra (while that may indirectly include the other one, my comment was based on the OP). Secondly, I do think that was a screw up too. I'm always willing to be proven wrong, but I think these choices came from ignorance, not malice. And I'm still not convinced that the President's team really broke the law. I guess that's why there's hearings. I just feel like the timing is bad and it might backfire on the republicans.
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Only three ways this can go:

1. The push for getting the loan approved came from within the Energy Department who kept both the Treasury and the Obama White House at bay concerning they're real dealings with Solyndra; OR,

2. The Energy Dept liaison (Mr. Smith I believe was his name) had some shaddy dealings and he and his wife, the attorney who worked for the law firm who handled the Solyndra legal affairs, undermined activities concerning the loan; OR,

3. The White House really did know what was going on and will use either the liaison, his wife or her legal firm as scapegoats in this scandal.

My guess is when all the smoke is clear, it will be either option 1 or 2 based on the fact that the Obama Administration (Mrs. Miller from Treasury) did inquire about loan receipts, as well as seek legal interpretation from Energy concerning who had repayment priority of the loan.
 
A non-issue by the Republicans to distract everyone from the fact they've done absolutely nothing to help the unemployment crisis. In fact, they want unemployment to increase as they continue to seek to elimination of government jobs.
 
Tettsuo said:
A non-issue by the Republicans to distract everyone from the fact they've done absolutely nothing to help the unemployment crisis. In fact, they want unemployment to increase as they continue to seek to elimination of government jobs.
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Eliminating government jobs is a long term net gain, assuming spending decreases in line with the decrease in salary obligations. It decrease our national borrowing needs and therefore our debt accrual. It makes our dollar more stable and would slow inflation related increases. But yeah, temporarily it would sting like a sumbitch. So does pouring alcohol on a cut, but it's damn sure worth it to avoid the ick, isn't it?
 
Can't ask the monarchy, oops I mean the White House, to reveal anything anymore. They do what they want.
 
roughdraft274 said:
Ok, I hope the white house turns over the documents. Not really sure what they're searching for though. This seems to be the biggest non-scandal scandal that I can think of. Hell the process of giving these loans to solyndra started on the Bush administration through a loan guarantee program created in 2005 under a republican congress and a republican president. As of yet I haven't seen any evidence that Obama or his administration benefited in any way from this mess. Seems more like Republicans in the house just would be very happy to waste time on a non-issue rather than actually work towards anything productive.
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To say that the process was started under Bush is like saying Watergate was started by the processes of the founding fathers.
 
Keridan said:
MaggieD said:
And was the other bankrupt company just a screw-up as well?

Two parts to my answer. One is that this subject is Solyndra (while that may indirectly include the other one, my comment was based on the OP). Secondly, I do think that was a screw up too. I'm always willing to be proven wrong, but I think these choices came from ignorance, not malice. And I'm still not convinced that the President's team really broke the law. I guess that's why there's hearings. I just feel like the timing is bad and it might backfire on the republicans.
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Solyndra is not in a vacuum. The other company plays a part as well. Patterns are hard to miss. I don't know if they broke the law. Wasn't commenting on that. But we sure need an investigation to figure it out. Backfire on the Repub's? They're going to lose the presidency in 2012; that's a given. But just maybe they'll take more seats on Congress. Best they can hope for, imo.

Tettsuo said:
A non-issue by the Republicans to distract everyone from the fact they've done absolutely nothing to help the unemployment crisis. In fact, they want unemployment to increase as they continue to seek to elimination of government jobs.
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And just what has Obama done to help the unemployment crisis? Huh-huh-huh?? Links.

7.8 2009
9.1 September 2011

Bureau of Labor Statistics Data

I'm thrilled. So are the unemployed.
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Keridan said:
I am by no stretch of the imagination a fan of President Obama, but this one strikes as a poor move to me. I think this one was really just an honest screw up. Further, I don't think it's an unusually bad one. He was campaigning on companies like this and chose a bad one to put in the forefront. It's likely that nothing new will be discovered and it will be dubbed a witch hunt. The administration is ready for this move.
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I agree that this may have been an honest screw-up...but I also allow for the possibility that this was the result of a callous disregard for the weak position of the company in the interest of promoting Obama's desire to influence his base...that is, to show that he really cares about alternative energy.

In any event, do you think that putting the taxpayer in hock for half a billion dollars because of a screw-up is not "unusually bad"?
 
Mycroft said:
I agree that this may have been an honest screw-up...but I also allow for the possibility that this was the result of a callous disregard for the weak position of the company in the interest of promoting Obama's desire to influence his base...that is, to show that he really cares about alternative energy.

In any event, do you think that putting the taxpayer in hock for half a billion dollars because of a screw-up is not "unusually bad"?
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I think it's absolutely horrible, but I was making a comparison statement. Unfortunately, it's almost par for the course.

As i say, I'm no fan of the President's. I won't argue that Solyndra was okay. Bear in mind, though, that Obama's only real skill is campaigning. He's gearing up for the next election by setting the republicans up as obstructionist, battle-happy demons. I have concerns about how this will play out. The right has been handing him favors all over in their handling of his recent movements.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
 
1Perry said:
To say that the process was started under Bush is like saying Watergate was started by the processes of the founding fathers.
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It's nothing like that at all. Bush made a specific change to the loan program that benefitted only one company. Can you guess what the one company was that qualified because of that specific exception? If you guessed Solydra you get a gold star.
 
AdamT said:
It's nothing like that at all. Bush made a specific change to the loan program that benefitted only one company. Can you guess what the one company was that qualified because of that specific exception? If you guessed Solydra you get a gold star.
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Emails uncovered by investigators for the House Energy and Commerce Committee showed that the Obama White House closely monitored the Energy Department's deliberations over the $535 million government loan, which was backed by an Obama fundraiser. The internal emails uncovered by investigators showed the administration was keenly monitoring the progress of the loan, even as analysts were voicing serious concerns about the risk involved. "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.
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Page 2: Solyndra Hearing: Blame It On Bush, Say Obama Officials - ABC News
 
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