SOLYNDRAGATE UPDATE…

Newly released Solyndra emails show that the Obama administration had urged Solyndra to keep quiet about layoffs until after the 2010 mid-term elections. And they were successful, Solyndra announced the layoffs and plant closing on November 3rd, one day after the midterms.

Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, is being questioned by Congress on Thursday.

Solyndra is one of the biggest crony capitalist deals that Obama has conducted since becoming president. The cronyism started in the months prior to the approval of the Solyndra loan by the Department of Energy in March of 2009, when billionaire and Obama bundler, George Kaiser, held numerous meetings with the White House about the pending loan.

George Kaiser holds the biggest stake in the now defunct Solyndra.

White House logs revealed that Solyndra executives and investors held four separate visits the week before the company received its cut of your stimulus cash. Those meetings all took place while a White House budget analyst warned in an email that, “this deal is not ready for prime time.”

Obama was so impressed with the failed solar company that the administration wanted to give it another $469 million on top of the $535 million to make it an even billion dollars in taxpayer cash.

Washington Post reported:
The Obama administration urged officers of the struggling solar company Solyndra to postpone announcing planned layoffs until after the November 2010 midterm elections, newly released e-mails show.

The new e-mails about the layoff announcement were released Tuesday morning as part of a House Energy and Commerce committee memo, provided in advance of Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s scheduled testimony before the investigative committee Thursday.

Solyndra’s chief executive warned the Energy Department on Oct. 25, 2010, that he intended to announce worker layoffs Oct. 28. He said he was spurred by numerous calls from reporters and potential investors about rumors the firm was in financial trouble and was planning to lay off workers and close one of its two plants.

But in an Oct. 30, 2010, e-mail, advisers to Solyndra’s primary investor, Argonaut Equity, explain that the Energy Department had strongly urged the company to put off the layoff announcement until Nov. 3. The midterm elections were held Nov. 2, and led to Republicans taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

“DOE continues to be cooperative and have indicated that they will fund the November draw on our loan (app. $40 million) but have not committed to December yet,” a Solyndra investor adviser wrote Oct. 30. “They did push very hard for us to hold our announcement of the consolidation to employees and vendors to Nov. 3rd – oddly they didn’t give a reason for that date.”

Harrison went on to state that he would “like to go forward with the internal communication [to employees regarding layoffs] on Thursday, October 28.”

Harrison’s e-mail was forwarded to program director, Jonathan Silver, who then alerted White House climate change czar Carol Browner and Vice President Biden’s point person on stimulus, Ron Klain. Browner asked for more information about the announcement, and Chu’s chief of staff explained he had left a voicemail message on her cellphone.

On Nov. 3, 2010, Solyndra announced it would lay off 40 workers and 150 contractors and shut down its Fab 1 factory. The department agreed to continue giving Solyndra installments of its federal loan despite the company’s failure to meet key terms of the loan, and in February restructured its loan to give investors a chance to recover $75 million in new money they put into the company before taxpayers would be repaid.

Related: White House Emails Show Rahm Emanuel Urged White House To Promote Solyndra
White House Was Warned Of ‘Coming Storm’ Over Solyndra ‘And Other Inside Energy Deals’
Solyndra Email: “They About Had An Orgasm In Biden’s Office When We Mentioned Solyndra”
White House Ignores Solyndra Subpoena Deadline
Emails Prove White House Lied, Billionaire Obama Donor, Kaiser, Discussed Solyndra Deal With WH
Solyndra Rails In $6.2 Million From Asset Auction, Taxpayers Rail In Zip
WHITE HOUSE SUBPOENAED — All Solyndra Documents Must Be Turned Over
Obama Considered Bailout For Solyndra Before It Went Bankrupt
Solyndra Executives Cashed In Before Filing For Bankruptcy
Energy Secretary Steven Chu To Testify To Congress On November 17 About Solyndra
Solyndra-Connected Fundraiser Still Working For Obama Reelection Campaign
Solyndra To Auction Off Assets, U.S. Taxpayers Won’t See A Penny
CRONY CAPITALISM – IRS Gave Now Bankrupt Solyndra Special Tax Break
Obama Refuses To Turn Over Solyndra Documents
Obama Ignored Legal Warnings On Solyndra Loan Guarantee
Solyndra Emails Show Obama Was Poised To Approve Second Loan For $469 Million
Obama Warned Not To Visit Solyndra By Senior Officials, Didn’t Want To Embarrass Him Later
WTF – Obama Says He Doesn’t Regret Loan To Solyndra, Calls It a “Good Bet”
FBI Probing Solyndra For Possible Fraud
SOLARGATE UPDATE: Solyndra Said To Have Violated Terms Of Its U.S. Loan
Concerns About Solyndra Loan Progarm Were Raised Directly To Obama During White House Meetings
It Just Got Better… Solyndra Bankruptcy Docs List California Democratic Party As Creditor

Read my Washington Times Communities Column: Obama’s Solyndra Fiasco

For the latest on the Solyndra scandal, click here.