I guess the feds want to know where that $535 million dollar “green jobs” DOE loan went.
Via Andrew Breitbart and from NBC Bay Area News:
FBI agents armed with search warrants descended this morning on bankrupt solar company Solynrda this morning.
The investigation comes after a request by the Department of Energy’s inspector general, FBI spokesman Peter Lee told NBC Bay Area News.
Agents arrived at 7a.m. and are examining the factory. Solynrda has a skeleton crew of 100 workers on the scene, closing the factory down. A CNBC photographer on the scene says the FBI has promised a press conference. An agency spokesperson at its San Francisco headquarters says he’s unaware of any such plans.
Solyndra filed for bankruptcy last week, shocking both workers and the Obama administration, which had given the startup hundreds of millions of dollars in low interest loans.
Congress has demanded a hearing into the matter.
There are no reports of any arrests at this time.
Read the whole thing here. We trust this is the start of a real investigation and not a “securing embarrassing documents” operation.
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“Jim G says:
September 8, 2011 at 5:06 pm
Wonder if any of that $535 million made it into Democrat campaign funds, one way or another.”
That’s the first thing that cross my mind. I wonder if the subcontractors were paid in full?
“We trust this is the start of a real investigation and not a “securing embarrassing documents” operation.”
Is it wrong that that was my initial thought? I was telling myself how cynical I am until I read your last line.
It is starting to seem like the law only works for criminals…
I’ve been around the FBI some. No they arent’ going to help hide evidence. This could be quite
unpleasant for the solyndra fols and certian gon’t bodies..
The problem being the DOJ hierarchy…
$528 million
+$69 million
———————–
$597 million
Does anyone else thing $600 million is just a tad too much for this sort of start up company?
……and for them to go bankrupt this quick
“A $69 million loan this spring from the company’s private investors will be repaid before taxpayers get their money back”
…and we’re going to get our money back because they are going to lease the building to Cirque du Soleil
Actually, a finding of fraud would be the best outcome for the DOE and administration. If not, the DOE et al. will have to admit that they are lousy venture capitalists. The DOE should take a page out of DARPA and fund basic research and small scale applied science, letting the business development side of things to the big boys. (N.B., Republican administrations are no better.)
Where was the market for these Solar Panels?
Are there any ‘green’ execs sipping a drink at a topless beach on the Mediterranean right now?
polistra ,
Yeah , but the shake down of the private sector has me worried .
Don’t forget about Evergreen Solar and also the “weatherization” initiative, which not only
included “training” but also tax incentives for customers. There are plenty of others as well.
Of course, don’t expect NBC/CNN to lift a finger to do any investigative journalism. They are part of the administration now, to judge by their embarrassing emails.
It is not just Sunburn that has affected the American president.
Words that did NOT appear in presidents 1/2 trillion dollar spending (jobs) speech.
Green
Renewable
Carbon
Solar
Wind
Environment
I wonder if they left all the tons of ultra hazardous material that go into solar cell production just sitting around or if they ever even bothered to build a production facility in the first place.
Sparks says:
September 8, 2011 at 6:18 pm
Where was the market for these Solar Panels?
====================================================
California Public Resources Code Section 25405.5 often referred to as “The “Mandatory Solar Option Law”, went into effect on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2011.
……………..I smell a shake down
Something like 200 automobile manufacturers went under years ago as the cream survived and eventually prospered. I’m sure some of them had outrageous start up assistance. China is creaming ours though. I just love Sam Walton & Richard Nixon. /sarc
HankH
You have to know that every Green Commie, every envy-mongering Leftie,
hates you with a passion because you didn’t need Govt to succeed.
More generally, I loathe and detest all the well-connected cronies
who scoop up Govt cash (confiscated from productive you and me)
and waste it, leaving nothing for the true capitalists
except higher taxes, more fees, more lawsuits, more regulations,
more being portayed as a rich bastard ‘not paying your fair share’.
What I can’t figure out is why our country hasn’t collapsed already.
HankH says:
September 8, 2011 at 5:26 pm
With a half billion dollars, Barry couldn’t get his pet “green” company off the ground. This tells me the following about Solyndra:
——————————-
It’s even worse than that. Solyndra got $530M (guaranteed) from the government but they also raised over $1B in VC. Even with that much cash they barely made it past the loan guarantee. This one should sting the greens for a very long time…
The ultimate “green” job is subsistance farming. Are we headed there?
Douglas DC: I’ve been around the FBI some. No they aren’t going to help hide evidence.
Doug, I’ve got two words for you – Ruby Ridge.
Someone check if Al Gore bought a new mansion! GK
This whole thing stinks to high Heaven – another example of the tax-payer being milked for all they’re worth. I bet you the shysters behind this scam have still got their millions, let’s just hope the end up grabbing their ankles in the clink.
Interstellar Bill says:
September 8, 2011 at 7:14 pm
“What I can’t figure out is why our country hasn’t collapsed already.”
Sad to say its because the of Chinese RMB supporting the $. You may not like it but the Chinese have to much invested to allow it to go tits up!
Heck – this is old news and chicken feed, when contrasted to the ‘new’ Obamanation ‘jobs’ proposals of another half Trillion dollars! And their all ‘green’ jobs, for stop light Progressives. They call them ‘green jobs’ because they are too yellow to admit they are red socialists. aka ‘Stop Light Progressives’.
It all makes me profoundly sick, my friends. I really don’t mean to belittle the Solyndra debacle but it is just the another forced kiss in the rape of my country. Tonights proposals by Our Dear Leader are just his rationalizations and justifications for another assault….
Ah, wonderful (liberal) federal economics…
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904716604576544500632493510.html
(emphasis added)
Why the Stimulus Failed
New research on what actually happened to a trillion dollars.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2011
Sound familiar?
It’s about to get worse, with records of Solyndra-associated folks visiting the WH numerous times in the last two years coming to light. I do hope someone with a lot of time on their hands and the right resources is going through the new jobs proposals sniffing out further pay-to-play deals. It seems Obama may be a happily married man but he still believes in having “friends with benefits”.
@kadaka (KD Knoebel) says:
September 8, 2011 at 11:15 pm
Skynet is destroying the world and we never knew it.
Don’t worry all these jobs are going to Scotland where they hope to create 60,000 green jobs and convert Scotland to 100% renew’s by 2020, you would of thought that ‘Fails’ like this would be a wake up call.
Here’s a neutral article focusing on this event in the context of the economics of the solar power business.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/292609-solyndra-bankruptcy-what-it-means-for-u-s-solar