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What Else Was The Department Of Energy Trying To Cover Up About Solyndra And The Loan Program?
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Former Executive Director Of Energy Department’s Loan Program Office Jonathan Silver Warned That Including Personal E-Mail Addresses On DOE E-Mail Made Them “Subpoenable.” “‘Don’t ever send an email on doe email with a personal email addresses,’ Silver wrote Aug. 21, 2011, from his personal account to a program official’s private Gmail account. ‘That makes them subpoenable.’”(Carol D. Leoning and Joe Stephens, “Energy Department Loan Program Staffers Were Warned Not To Use Personal Email,” The Washington Post , 8/14/12)
WHAT DID OBAMA’S DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NOT WANT PEOPLE TO FIND OUT?
Ten Days Before Solyndra Declared Bankruptcy, Then-Executive Director Of The DOE Loan Program Office Jonathan Silver Tells Staff “Not To Include Personal E-Mail Addresses In Official Correspondence, To Prevent The Personal Accounts From Being Subpoenaed.” “The former head of the Obama administration’s controversial clean energy loan program warned a staff member last year not to include personal e-mail addresses in official correspondence, to prevent the personal accounts from being subpoenaed, documents show. Jonathan Silver, a political appointee who oversaw the Energy Department’s $38 billion program, sent the warning days before a centerpiece of the program – solar-panel maker Solyndra – declared bankruptcy, pushing a congressional investigation into high gear. ‘Don’t ever send an email on doe email with a personal email addresses,’ Silver wrote Aug. 21, 2011, from his personal account to a program official’s private Gmail account. ‘That makes them subpoenable.’ The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform wrote a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Tuesday charging that he and Silver appear to have given ‘inaccurate’ or ‘misleading’ testimony to Congress about their handling of the loan program. Silver had testified that no one in the department used personal e-mails to conceal internal discussions about the program.” (Carol D. Leoning and Joe Stephens, “Energy Department Loan Program Staffers Were Warned Not To Use Personal Email,” The Washington Post , 8/14/12)
While Silver Warned Staff Not To Include Personal Emails, He Repeatedly Dealt With Internal And Sensitive Loan Decisions Via Personal E-Mail Account. “Silver repeatedly communicated about internal and sensitive loan decisions via his personal e-mail, the newly released records show, and more than a dozen other Energy Department staff members used their personal e-mail to discuss decisions involving taxpayer-funded loans as well. The Washington Post received the e-mails from Republican investigators on the committee.” (Carol D. Leoning and Joe Stephens, “Energy Department Loan Program Staffers Were Warned Not To Use Personal Email,” The Washington Post , 8/14/12)
Though Obama Administration Officials Claim Loan Decisions Were Based On Merit, New E-Mails Released Show “The Most Senior People In The Administration” Were Worried About Small Loans And There Was Drive To Get Things Done So “Obama Will Look Like A Hero.” “The White House and Chu have repeatedly asserted that the Energy Department staff made all loan decisions based on merit, without regard to politics or donors. In the new e-mails, Silver cited political considerations in pressing for the administration to approve at least one loan applicant. Silver wrote on June 12, 2011, to David Lane, counsel to White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, arguing that approving a loan to a solar-generation facility called Project Amp would help Obama politically. Project Amp then planned to buy from Solyndra, which investors hoped would help the struggling solar-panel maker. ‘Why are the most senior people in the Administration worrying about a $200 million deal? Don’t we have bigger problems?’ Silver wrote. ‘Obama will look like a hero if we do this to a constituency that is now worried about him.’” (Carol D. Leoning and Joe Stephens, “Energy Department Loan Program Staffers Were Warned Not To Use Personal Email,” The Washington Post , 8/14/12)
In August 2011, Solyndra Announced That It Would File For Bankruptcy. “Solyndra, a Fremont solar tech manufacturer, announced Wednesday it is suspending operations and immediately laying off 1,100 employees. The company said it will also file for bankruptcy.” (George Avalos, “Fremont Solar Tech Firm Solyndra To Shut Down, Lay Off 1,100 Workers,”The San Jose Mercury News, 8/31/11)
- A Total Of 1,861 Workers Were Laid Off By Solyndra As It Went Bankrupt. ”Since September 1, 2010 (impact date), an estimate 1,861 workers have been separated from the firm. This total includes an estimated 649 temporary workers as well as leased workers from West Valley, Aerotek, Oxford Global, GES and Lighthouse Management. Most of these separations occurred at the time of the shut-down of the Fremont, CA facility on August 31, 2011. An additional 85 workers are threatened with separation as the company’s operations wind down.” (Employment And Training Administration, “Investigative Report TA-W-80,410; Solyndra LLC,” Department Of Labor, 9/12/11)
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