Uncovered emails reveal Obama administration knew Solyndra was risky, lied to public

by Jonathan Benson, staff writer

(NaturalNews) The legitimacy of the Obama administration's green energy initiatives has been called into serious question after California-based solar technology company Solyndra, which received more than $535 million in taxpayer-funded loans, went belly-up just days ago (http://www.naturalnews.com/033551_S...). And according to ABC News, the US House Energy Commerce Committee recently uncovered internal emails revealing that the White House knew the company was in trouble long before its bankruptcy, but essentially reassured the public that everything was a-okay.

Part of a more than $6 billion stimulus initiative to spur alternative energy development, the Solyndra scandal is ironically shaping up to be the poster child of the Obama administration's undeniable lack of proper oversight of its loan program, rather than the glowing example of the future of green energy that it was originally hailed to be when Mr. Obama toured the facility back in 2010.

Not only was the Obama White House aware of Solyndra's escalating financial mishaps long before its official bankruptcy, but a budget analyst for the administration had warned it back on March 12, 2009, nine days before Solyndra was awarded the loan, that the "deal [was] NOT ready for prime time." And just a few days before that, Ronald A. Klain, chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, brought up the issue of the deal potentially being a "bad idea" as well.

According to CBS News, the US Treasury Department's Inspector General has now initiated an investigation into the matter to determine Solyndra's role in allegedly misleading the government about its financial stability. However, the investigation will also probe the activity and involvement of the Federal Financing Back, the government corporation that provided Solyndra its loan in the first place.

Back in March, U.S. Department of Energy Inspector General Gregory Friedman alleged that the White House was doing a poor job of maintaining records on the alternative energy loan program. He wrote in a report that there were no "systematically organized records" to properly identify the financial risk involved in granting such loans. This, of course, puts White House officials in the crosshairs of an investigation as well.

Attention has also been focused on billionaire George Kaiser, a private investor in the Solyndra deal who also fundraised for Mr. Obama during the 2008 presidential election cycle, and his potential involvement in the scandal.

Sources for this story include:

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/email...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011...