Free Republic

New emails obtained by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform show a direct link between the Department of Energy’s controversial green energy loan program and the White House, Republicans on the committee said Wednesday. The White House and Energy Department have long held there was no political influence in the decision-making process that awarded billions of dollars in federal loan guarantees to renewable energy companies. However, emails disclosed at the hearing reference to communications with the White House. House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) said the emails are the first in the committee’s more than yearlong investigation...

Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) – the GOP’s point man on the Solyndra solar loan guarantee probe – isn’t giving the White House much credit for ordering an independent review of the Energy Department’s green energy loan portfolio. Stearns, who chairs the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, used Friday’s White House announcement to take several political shots at the Obama administration. “We remain hopeful the administration's call to review the loan guarantee program will be different from previous internal reviews – like the regulatory reform and line-by-line reviews that the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee revealed as being merely PR campaigns without...

The director of the controversial loan program that cleared the way for a $535 million taxpayer guarantee to bankrupt solar firm Solyndra is stepping down, the Energy Department confirmed Thursday. Jonathan Silver, head of the Loan Programs Office, plans to join the organization Third Way as a "distinguished visiting fellow." The career change comes in the middle of heavy scrutiny from Congress over the department's handling of the Solyndra agreement. Documents that have emerged over the past month show officials were warned about potential problems with the company as it sought government help. But the president on Thursday defended the...