Solyndra Subject Of Congressional Probe

Solyndra , the Fremont, California based manufacturer of solar panels that went bankrupt after receiving $535 in loan guarantees from the Department of Energy has attracted the attention of House Republicans. Rep Fred Upton of the House Energy and Commerce Committee has sent a letter to White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler Thursday seeking records of communication between the White House, Solyndra and its investors – including Democratic fund raiser George Kaiser.

The letter states:
“We have learned from our investigation that White House officials monitored Solyndra’s application, and communicated with [the Energy Department] and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) officials during the course of their review in 2009 and when those officials were restructuring the Solyndra deal this year. Documents received by the Committee also show that DOE and OMB officials were aware of the White House’s interest in the Solyndra loan guarantee. In addition, we are also aware that a major investor in Solyndra, George Kaiser, was a bundler for President Obama’s 2008 campaign.”

This comes amid a wider GOP investigation of the Obama administration green energy programs and the 2009 stimulus law that enabled the Energy Department loan guarantee for the maker of advanced solar panels.