The latest Solyndra 'bombshell': A 'real scandal'?
Email evidence suggests the Energy Department fought to delay bad news about its green-jobs poster child until after the 2010 midterms
Newly released emails indicate that the Obama administration, after giving solar-panel maker Solyndra a $535 million loan to create jobs, asked the company to delay announcing layoffs until after the crucial November 2010 midterm elections, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. This news galvanized conservatives, who already charge that the administration played politics with the initial loan — their suspicions fueled by the fact that billionaire Obama fundraiser George Kaiser was a major investor in the now-bankrupt company. The Energy Department says House Republicans are trying to turn a discussion about the timing of a press release into a scandal. How big a deal is this new revelation?
This is a "bombshell": This is yet more evidence that the administration "blatantly lied" about Solyndra, says Guy Benson at Townhall. This latest "bombshell" makes it "transparently obvious" that Obama officials steered money to a major donor under the guise of economic stimulus, then tried to "escape or delay electoral consequences for their own abysmal failures" by slipping "the entire development past the American people." Absolutely "shameless."
"Whoa: White House pressured Solyndra to postpone layoffs until after 2010 elections"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It's not that scandalous: Yes, the email does look fishy, says Andrew Restuccia at The Hill. But remember, the note was sent by a Kaiser investment adviser, not an administration official. And the substance of the note is about a press release. Plus, GOP investigators have looked at boxes of documents, and still haven't found any evidence of "political favoritism" in the decision to issue the loan in the first place.
"Emails suggest DOE pressed Solyndra to delay layoff news until after election"
But it has the potential to stain Obama: At first, it seemed the "real scandal" behind Solyndra was the way the Energy Department continued wasting money on the company as it went down the tubes, says Megan McArdle at The Atlantic. "But these days, the real scandal is starting to look like... real scandal." Playing politics with decisions connected to a loan "is not the worst thing that any president has done, or even in the top 100." But it undermines confidence in the green-jobs program, and the administration itself.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Melting polar ice is messing with global timekeeping
Speed Read Ice loss caused by climate change is slowing the Earth's rotation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Week contest: Stick guitar
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
'Sports executives ushered a fox into the henhouse'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Xi-Biden meeting: what's in it for both leaders?
Today's Big Question Two superpowers seek to stabilise relations amid global turmoil but core issues of security, trade and Taiwan remain
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published