Posted on 09/07/2011 11:24:49 AM PDT by Nachum
I wrote about the solar panel manufacturer Solyndra last week; "Government Investment Disaster in the Works" I highlighted all of the negatives that the company was facing.
It was pretty clear to me that that company was facing trouble. But I had no idea that they would file Chapter 11 the very next day. (Sometimes you just get lucky)
I also made note of some scuttlebutt that George Kaiser (Oklahoma oil billionaire) was involved with Solyndra. I have been looking for a confirmation of this. Kaiser is an important link in this story. He is also a very big fund-raiser for Obama. He is often referred to as a “Bundler”. In this case that means he encouraged/pushed others to put up money for the big O’s campaign.
The Tulsa World filed a story Re the Kaiser connection earlier today. (What better place to get the news than a home town paper). Quotes from the TW article:
The bankruptcy filing indicates that Argonaut Ventures, an investment arm of the Tulsa-based foundation, holds almost 39 percent of Solyndra's parent, 360 Solar Degree Holdings Inc.
Okay, so who is behind Argonaut Ventures?
In an emailed statement to the Tulsa World, a representative of the George Kaiser Family Foundation said the organization made the investment through Argonaut.
So the family foundation was the source of the money that got Solyndra going. But George Kaiser tried to distance himself from this very ugly story. A quote from a Kaiser “spokesperson”:
(Excerpt) Read more at zerohedge.com ...
The list, ping
Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list
The company’s business plan never made economic sense. That is why they needed hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars just to survive as long as they did.
There are several “green” companies that did almost exactly the same thing.
I am guessing that a great deal of the money was stolen and that the people involved will end up with a big payday and no investigation.
Almost all the people in government subsidized “green energy” are simply common criminals with political connections looking for an easy score.
I agree with the author, this is an enormous story. In Feruary the lenders reorganize Solyndra’s debt so that the US loan is subordinated to George Kaiser’s (an Oklahoma oil and gas billionaire and 0zer0 bundler) investment in Solyndra through his investment holding company. So now it looks like the ozer0 benefactor (Kaiser) gets reimbursed while the US taxpayer eats the $535 million loan due to this restructuring.
The republicans and Issa need to beat this drum relentlessly for the next year and a half. This is the type corruption that could bring an administration down if the pubbies are willing to pursue this.
From The Market Ticker:
Why is important? Because your money - $527 million of it - has a subordinate position to $70 million in private equity money that preceded it.
Why did the DOE do this? That's a good question.
You'd have to be mad to offer more than seven times the previous financing that the firm secured in a subordinate position, especially when the firm burns through it and blows up in a year!
Or, of course, you might be corrupt.
Pick one OBAMA, because from where I sit this looks like your administration bailed out a private equity fund's bad investment, and I think we the people should know why.
When all is said and done, I bet fewer than 10% of these “green” companies turn out to be anything but a taxpayer-fleecing scam. People ought to hang for this.
They deliberately failed to comply with several subpoena's and it looks like they destroyed documents and committed perjury.
See the timeline.
February 17, 2011 – Committee Leaders submit a letter to Energy Secretary Chu seeking documents and information about the $535 million loan guarantee that the DOE Loan Guarantee Program awarded Solyndra, Inc. DOE complies with the request.
March 14, 2011 – Committee Leaders submit a letter to OMB requesting key documents and information concerning the review of the Solyndra loan guarantee. A two week deadline is set.
March 17, 2011 – Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations holds a hearing on DOE Recovery Act Spending.March 28, 2011 – OMB fails to meet the Committee deadline.
June 7, 2011 – After weeks of back and forth, an in camera review takes place with Committee staff and OMB staff. OMB selected eight emails between OMB and DOE to make available to Committee staff, and refused to produce the rest of the emails or the agreed-upon internal OMB emails and documents.
June 23, 2011 – Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns responded in a letter to OMB after it refused to share requested documents by the Committee regarding the Solyndra loan guarantee investigation.
June 24, 2011 – The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing regarding OMB’s Role in the DOE Loan Guarantee Process. Sole witness Jeffrey Zients, Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget was a no show.
July 11, 2011 – Committee staff conduct a second in camera review. Committee staff asked OMB about the production of the other categories of documents sought by this Committee, specifically, OMB’s internal communications and documents relating to Solyndra, and its communications with the White House. As the OMB had done for months, OMB staff refused to provide and answer about whether they would produce these materials, and instead maintained that the OMB-DOE communications sufficiently show whether or not OMB had has done its job with regard to Solyndra.
July 12, 2011 – Energy and Commerce Committee leaders announced the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations were to hold a business meeting on Thursday, July 14, 2011 to consider a motion authorizing the issuance of a subpoena for certain records of the Office and Management and Budget relating to the Department of Energy’s issuance of a loan guarantee to Solyndra, Inc. on September 2, 2009.
July 13, 2011 – Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns wrote a letter to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to provide a final opportunity to avoid the issuance of a subpoena. OMB refused.
July 14, 2011 – The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a business meeting to consider the issuance of the subpoena. The Subcommittee voted to issue the subpoena 14 to 8.
July 15, 2011 – The subpoena is issued to OMB, setting a July 22, 2011, deadline.
July 22, 2011 – OMB fails to meet the subpoena’s dealing. Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns informs OMB that they have failed to comply with the subpoena issued on July 15, 2011 regarding the Solyndra loan guarantee. Chairman Stearns requested that OMB produce the documents no later than 9:00 a.m. Monday, July 25, 2011.
July 25, 2011 – OMB fails to produce the documents by 9:00am deadline.
August 2011 – OMB agrees to produce all documents necessary to the Committee’s investigation, with appropriate safeguards relating to proprietary information. Production continues.
good going!
great list and additional info for today’s FBI news to go out in an email!!
Thanks.
In this case and others hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are being stolen and nobody seems to be aware of it.
Just is just one example of how corrupt our government has become.
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