Treasury Inspector General Opens Probe Into Obama's Solargate
In the latest installment of what is rapidly becoming Obama's Keynesian Solargate, we learn that the Treasury Department's Inspector General has opened an investigation of the now defunct $528 million government loan to Solyndra which has no chance of getting repaid, following what will be a pennies on the dollar liquidation of the company, especially since it is primed by a $75 million term loan to George Kaiser, a documented Obama "bundler" as was documented previously. Per the AP, "A spokesman said Thursday that the inspector general is reviewing the role and actions of the Federal Financing Bank, a government corporation supervised by the Treasury Department. The bank provided the low-interest loan to the Fremont, Calif.-based company." The "concern" is that Obama has pushed levers to get the investment in a venture controlled by a "friend" on a fasttrack, with the White House Office Of Management Supervision urging the DOE to release the funds without proper diligence. "The House energy committee released documents Wednesday that appeared to show senior staff at the White House Office of Management and Budget chafing about having to conduct "rushed approvals" of a loan guarantee for Solyndra. Republican members of the committee said the emails raised questions about whether the loan was rushed to accommodate a Solyndra groundbreaking ceremony in September 2009 that featured Vice President Joe Biden and Energy Secretary Steven Chu." And while there is more, we will spare the Treasury IG some time (assuming he is at least a little less corrupt than everyone else in the administration and actually plan on conducting a legitimate investigation) and advise him to simply look at campaign and other contributions by Solyndra's equity backers which features the George Kaiser Family Foundation, U.S. Venture Partners, CMEA Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Virgin Green Fund, Madrone Capital Partners, RockPort Capital Partners, Argonaut Private Equity, Masdar and Artis Capital Management. When in doubt, always follow the buck... especially when it is looking for a very fast turnaround courtesy of taxpayer capital IRR padding.
And speaking of the "more"
We would prefer to have sufficient time to do our due diligence reviews and have the approval set the date for the announcement rather than the other way around," said one of the emails from an unidentified OMB aide to Biden's office.
In another email exchange obtained by the committee, an Energy Department official asked a staff member at OMB if "there is anything we can speed along on the OMB side." Again, neither official was identified.
"I would prefer that this announcement be postponed," the OMB official replied. "This is the first loan guarantee and we should have full review with all hands on deck to make sure we get it right."
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday the emails don't suggest that the White House was pushing for the loan to be made.
Of course, and Europe may or may not do everything in its power to lever up on its sovereign bailout, as per Timmy G who is about to teach the ECB all about the benefits of unlimited private upside, and unlimited taxpayer downside, courtesy of Bernanke's own brilliant TALF construct, which worked at a time when QE 1 and 2 would still be able to add $2+ trillion to the balance sheet of the Fed, but will have some serious trouble now that every central bank's assets are full to the brim.
Anyway, back to Solyndra:
Solyndra once was the showcase for President Barack Obama's efforts to increase investment in renewable energy and to generate jobs. But the marketplace for its products changed dramatically over the past year. Chinese companies have flooded the market with inexpensive solar energy panels, and Europe's economy weakened demand from customers. The result has been an unprecedented drop in solar cell prices this year. Two other solar panel manufacturers also filed for bankruptcy in the past month.
Administration officials stressed that private investors thought so highly of Solyndra's prospects that they put more than $1 billion of their own money into the company.
And there it is: to find out why this deal was massively botched up, just find out what influence said PE firms injected on Obama. And also find out what other equity investors stand to lose if the DOE does not dispense with the balance of its "stimulus" loans in time:
The Obama administration is moving to finalize as many as 15 loan guarantees for renewable energy companies before a federal stimulus program ends on Sept. 30. Republicans question whether that could lead to more loans to companies that fail like Solyndra.
The answer? A resounding yes. But we will give the president one thing: he sure is creating entry level bankruptcy attorney and financial advisor jobs, and a whole lot of billable hours, which will be funded by the bankrupt estate, which, incidentally means, the US taxpayer.
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WTF. No pension or library for the idiots in office anymore. Make em work at McDonalds
Are you fucking joking? The service at McDonald's is already shitty enough. Can you imagine one of these retards that we have in office trying to run a drive-thru? I think that could truly collapse civilization. The only job these douche bags are qualified for is politician or welfare queen, or a little of both.
Damn right! I can imagine the "changes" made like......
You must turn the engine off and push your car through the drive through to cut pollution, save energy, and get some exercise.
TSA will hand rape everyone as they push their car through.
You must weigh in and get your height measured so management can tell you what menu you can order from.
When you get to the window be sure and smile for the face recognition camera.
All Illegals get a 25% discount. All Whites pay an additional 25% because they have an unfair advantage because they are White.
Blacks get nothing because their going to vote "the right way" no mater how bad the democrats screw them.
White: "Blacks get nothing because their going to vote "the right way" no mater how bad the democrats screw them."
Black: "America is a racist country. The white man is keeping black folks down"
White: "I offer a free one way ticket to any country in Africa for you then if you go where black man is at the top"
Black: "I already am in a country with a black man at the top."
Latino: "We all fucked (in spanish)!"
BrightSource...IPO'd @ 250 mill...
The U.S. Department of Energy last year tentatively awarded the project $1.37 billion in loan guarantees as part of the federal government's economic stimulus program. But the department upped that figure to $1.6 billion on Monday when it finalized terms of the financing.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/11/BUAG1IUER0.DTL#ixzz1Y4ITXjtq
The board...without comment ;-)
http://www.brightsourceenergy.com/about_us/board_of_directors
so i assume one could just follow the list of loanees of the DoE guarantee programs for "Short" play ideas?
We tried to warn Leo (in between his luncheon dates with the power elites) of the wolves prowling around the fatted sheeple.
Some men you just can't reach ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fuDDqU6n4o
Excellent comment! Retro activity... The real money spending is out of control as well... What inflation? In the DWE economies?
haaaaah, awesome find NM. That BOD is quite the horror-show.
David Fries and Jim Eats.... enough said eh? BUt then there is Israel, GE...... stinky stinky.
I'll say it here again, solar the way it is now is not the answer. Cannot be. Now is wind. Nor is geo-thermal.
These are all approaches using a newtonian understanding of the world.
There are better ways. Far far better ways. Try getting this BOD to listen though? Not a chance, they are too vested in the current, long cycle time, million dollar, high/higher/highest tech gizmodo non-sense.
ORI
A Better way to Tech NirVana
A better way to Tech NivVana; Fried Cow Dung?
You see IQ 145, Mr. 800 Perfect Sat Scorer, attitudes like yours are the problem.
Instead of asking nicely, maybe once, about how it might be, you are stuck in your 1959 perfect score world.
Well, the world will change in-spite of you. Perhaps you can try some mind-flex for a change, think that there might be other ways of looking at the world, not just what is accepted.
Because even you have to admit, it's a pretty darn shitty world this teutonic, super linear take on technology has made for us.
You are of course free to be howsoever you choose. Unlike your snide-ness, I genuinely wish you well.
I do hope though that you are not in any way a gate-keeper for new technological advancements.
ORI
Where do we Fit?
you're an idiot
None are the answer for the ignorant who cram themselves too many to the cubic inch in cities, true. Old tech (poly crystal) solar has run my 4 building campus off the grid since 1980, and no, that's not a typo. All this "new" crap that's supposed to be "more efficient and cheap" is precisely the same misdirection and ruse that GW's clowns were pushing with the "hydrogen economy, just wait, we'll be ready in a few" == meaning you get to keep buying their oil till then - which is never. Yeah, to live high on the resulting electricity, you have to cover a roof with the stuff, at not much over the price for real good windows the same area.
The problem was never the tech. It's that people aren't ready to pay up front. They like working with the rent-seeking and all too aptly named "power company" even if it rips them off. Because to put in a real good system you have to forgo a lot of instant debt-induced gratification, instead of taking personal responsibility for how heavy you walk on the earth. And no, I'm no greenie, and I have a hell of a lot of fun when they think I am. I'm free and allow no rent-seeking entities to fuck with me insofar as its possible. Since my county delegated enforcement of the building codes to the "power company" - I live in a "barn" that required no building permit. The tax savings - "priceless". Figure ROI=100% about every year.
Alternative philosophy aside -- its working and has been for over 3 decades, all the panels still meeting spec (Solarex, BP-Amoco).
Very nice for you, but, what if I want to smelt lead or aluminum?
Your approach: insufficient energy.
LOL Jesus that;s hilarious.
liked the last best long john. so true. hippies too they say.
Newsflash #1
These simple govt fucks couldn't cut it at McD's. They would be hiding in the can whimpering to mom on their iPhone in under 30 minutes in any real kitchen.
The typical McD's manager could literally RUN CIRCLES around these useless pukes all the while getting the fucking job done.
Newsflash #2
Don't disrespect the people that make your food dumbass.
"Don't disrespect the people that make your food dumbass."
So very true. Only fools eat something they've been served after being rude to the wait staff.
McD's doesn't "make food," they buy bulk produce from processors then freeze it and ship it. The local peeps unwrap it, heat it, fry it, cut it, dole it out, and do a song and dance to maximize their efficiency from Hamburger U while salting and packaging it to hand over to debt-ridden diabetic overweight cholesterol-laden under-insured proletariat.
To refer to the end result is food is akin to a Principal-Only Tranche on subslime desert non-credit enhanced collateral being called an investment. Same cookery, same clowns, same result.
All completely true....and I guess when folks stop buying McD's will stop selling.....Excuse me while I pour myself a JimBeam and light up a Camel.
:)
Regardless of the "food" debate....the work is real. And I still say that the typical McD's manager could outwork nearly any govt employee...and do so...on a daily basis.
FWIW...McD's is one of the few businesses left that will literally take a kid off the street and give them an opportunity to work. Lots of store owners came up that way....lots of wealth.
So....you want some fries with that whineburger??
Make em work as janitors at Halliburton so they can see how it's done. All this stink over a lousy half a bil. What a bunch of pikers.
Yeah I know, nobody in Club Parasite gets outta bed now for less than $500bn, this $500mn of taxpayers disappearing down a White House shitter is such small beer you wonder if Treasury has got too much time on its hands piddling with these incidental amounts
No wonder Leo left ZH with only a couple of acidic deranged mumblings, his Solar panel investment must have got a nice little kicker of taxpayer largesse to give him a 'green exit strategy' just before the usual red ink bankruptcy all green (or Govt propped up biz-models) ends in
This is just so racist. Why do they have to go after the black half of Obama like this?
Oreo has produced a new cookie for Obama. It's the Triple Double Oreo.
New! Triple Double Oreo
why does that sound so dirty?
TO DISTRACT YOU FROM THE REAL ISSUE: Banksters
especially given QE3 and Euro bailouts coming up
Exactly!
This scandal is nothing compared to the real scandals.
The only reason you are hearing about it so much is because it is one of the very few signs of corruption that isn't totally bipartisan. Republicans can make a stink about it.
The Obama Administration is FAR more corrupted by Wall Street banks, but Republicans aren't going to make a stink about that because they want the Wall Street money even more than Obama does.
Listen....I agree that there are lots of scandals encircling us, namely the absolute destruction of our nation, our Constitution, and everything else. However, you should not be underestimating the positive nature of a plain, open, obvious case of crony capitalism now being investigated.
I find this Solyndra story quite refreshing, myself. I hope the consequences from it land on President Zero's desk. I hope the truth is revealed...which is basically, certain people made a half billion US tax payer dollars quietly disappear. Hmmmm? I wonder where all those Benjamins went?
Let's find out.
Always appreciate your wisdom {C-Dad}... I don't see much short covering going into tomorrow?
Best to you and your family! Yen :)
Between this, gunwalker, and the one where they sell the guns to known Chicago felons for resale to street gangs, I reckon we're in for a real shitshow.
The blogs have to keep pushing this stuff until the legacy media is forced to expose it to the plebs.
Real issue- Operation Fast and Furious...people have been murdered due to Obama selling guns to drug cartels, in the attempt to blame the guns on americans.
I like the title anyway, why does everything have to be a "gate"?
If Obama and Holder would answer the question, honestly (ha!), about when they knew about (and when I say "knew about" I mean came up with the op and had it executed) Gunwalker I think they could/should be tried as an accessory to murder.
"Don't worry, we're working on getting rid of the 2nd amendment... under the rader and behind the scenes." - Barry Soetoro
Head over to Sipsey Street Irregulars for all the truth.
cuz the joo half is off limits.
Obama: the First Jewish President? (NO)
United States Of America:Zionist Occupied Govt.Cuz the white half is even dumber?
Would that this was a true Watergate moment, but I seriously doubt there remains an uncorrupted individual in the Obama Administration. Way too much cash was flowing.
Yep, all that worthless fiat cash.
This isn't just an Obama administration issue. DC has been swallowed up by a culture of corruption and theft. The good people of this nation have known it for a very long time.
Of course, the best way to fix/reduce the problem is to get rid of incumbents. Hmmmm? Who has been getting rid of incumbents? Ah, yes, the Tea Party. Bring them on...more of them. I don't care about their credentials, how slick they make speech, how handsome or ugly they are, or whether or not they can name all of the political leaders of Africa.
More citizen representation, please.
Until the Tea Party becomes the incumbents. I think a good portion of people that enter office intend to to good, then leave when the good work is finished. But once they get inside the candy store they never wanna leave - mark my words.
Think about it, best job on earth; people treat you like a star, you are "important", you get paid a nice salary and get to travel anywhere in the world on the gov'ment dime. You only work as hard as you want and the only job review is to get the same money from the people you did last time every 4 years.
Sadly all too true. And the trouble is, when you vote out incumbents, you have to vote another clown in, who then assumes they have a mandate -- never ever consider the fact that their only quality was that they weren't the same guy, and we don't get "none of the above" on the ballots (a significant problem that could be easily fixed if even a tiny fraction of that "for the people" crap was believed by those in power).
But vote the damn incumbents out anyway. And keep doing it. Make the lobbyists earn that pay.
So, Hillary's minions are hard at work?
No wonder the banksters aren't willing to drop $38k to dine with The One.
At what point does Hillary see her opportunity to jump in and once again try to be our first lesbian president?
...Obama is a cunt
Being a little unfair to cunts. No?
No sir, Buckwheat is a crook.
"People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got."
Quick, somebody give Obama a little dog. That will keep him out of trouble. Maybe he can name him Chess or Monopoly. I hear dogs named after board games can pull a politician's ass out of the ringer.
lol...maybe we'll get a Checkers speech yet.
how 'bout Parchisi or Backgammon? probably name it Othello. alas, the subtlety would be lost on most avg folks.
Call we name the dog "Risk"?
"Trouble"?
I would rather see a big stray dog around the white house decked out in a bandanna that goes by the name "Sausage."
pods
Hey, go with the card game "Gimme a Brain"
We had our own moment of that in the run up to the 2005 UK election;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4791846.stm
Of course, no official was ever found guilty of wrongdoing. What are the odds Obama operated "in good faith" on your side of the Atlantic?
"More like a million to 1."
"So, you're telling me there's a chance?"
This isn't Iran Contra. I highly doubt there was an order by the Prez to loot the DOE. Nor I am certain was he being informed as such. There is the legitimate question as to why these clowns thought they could do as much however--where there's smoke there's fire. It doesn't seem a stretch either that the American voter has taken off the white gloves either. A namby-bamby response strikes me as ill advised.
Sounds like you've never met a Lib, but you may be a Nader supporter, and not know the difference.
the Labour Party operates on the principle that you can always spend more of someone else's money. they don't even know what you're talking about when you say "pay back". The possibility that he was operating in good faith is zero. This mensch, Kaiser, has been to the white house 20 times. This is called "access" and it's what he bought; it;s completely corrupt.
Too funny, but Obama's handlers tried the overly used "Blame it on Bush" doctrine yesterday in Congress during Solyndra hearings.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/solyndra-blame-bush-obama-officials/story?id=14513389
well, i think this was started by pres. bush and was finished by pres. obama.
kinda like NAFTA......
I thought it was the Tea Party's fault.
could it be a lobbyist fault, i think that is what is corrupting our government.....
It was started under Bush but also ended 2 weeks before Obama came into office, FAIL;
i didnt know that part,
thank you for the info.
Plus one for maintaining an open mind.
There is no way the criminals in D.C. will do anything. Fat chance.
Just like Fast n' Furious notta GD thing will come even close to touching Obama.
These guys are all wearing teflon.
This would be the same Energy Sec Chu who said of the light bulb ban:
“We are taking away a choice that continues to let people waste their own money.”
Because a free citizen 'wasting' a buck on a light bulb is a criminal, while throwing away half a billion dollars - over the objections of the govt bean counters - is just groovy.
And if you break one of those little mercury filled curly things don't report it...you'll be up to your ass in EPA alligators...lol.
And about those 153 bridges he's yappin about now (that didn't get fixed with the last 858 billion dollar "shovel ready jobs" fiasco)...someone gonna ask him exactly where those FRN's got off to?
Thought so.
A chin in Obama's armor perhaps?
typo?
...well, the black half of him is a cunt; the white half is a big cock. As far as I'm concerned, he can go fuck himself
G. Gordon Liddy,, Do we need solar? I will stand on the sidewalk,, CIA HIT
Interesting....
"I can not, and will not.....harumphharumphblahbittyblahblahblah..."
I could see it happening.
Enter Queen Hillary on her shiny white stud horse Bill to save us from ourselves.
Good times!
I heard the lefty press is pushing the "Obama has clinical depression" story.
Ya think they might try to take him down with the 25th ammendment?
A silent voice ( +1)
I think the fix is in for Perry...barring the dead grrl/live boy rule of course.
"GWB...without all the intellectual encumberances..."
I'd credit that if I could remember.
I think Obama knows he's done. It's all about the travel and a nice U job at this point. He's in completely over his head.
Frankly...this is when he is probably at his most dangerous.Now THAT is an interesting take; didn't even see that coming as a possibility. But it would be brilliant, as it allows for a lot of face-saving by the party, and even the man himself. Remember, if it's something you can diagnose, then it really isn't your fault. Right? RIGHT?
the usa president is above the law. O has done dozens of shitty illegal deals (wars, gm, etc., etc.), i highly doubt stealing a measly few hundred million will bring him down. besides, he will rat on everyone if they try.
Ron Brown and Vincent Foster. That's all I'm going to say.
Harry Whittington and Valerie Plame. That's all I'm going to say.
both above comments +9 astuteness.
+ William J. Casey
A boisterous voice) +1
This is what happens when a community organizer from Chicago starts to play the alternative-energy private equity market with taxpayer capital.
If he can pretend to be an expert on the constitution why can't he pretend to be an expert on alternative energy? Have you ever seen him play golf or basketball? Is there anything this guy can do well that is an actual skill that any decent human would value? If our cat played basketball like Obama I would have that little pussy put to sleep.
Cheating.
Change you can believe in.
According to recent economic data...Americans have no change left to spare.
It's telling that O is still following a good portion of the Bush/Cheney agenda. Tax cuts, and adding to them, two wars in the ME, drones killing people in Pakistan, etc.
So very disappointed in this president. He had a massive mandate when elected. Instead of prosecuting bankers and Goldman, he put them at the top of his Administration. Opportunity of the decade, wasted by Obama.