SOLYNDRAGATE UPDATE…

Now bankrupt and FBI-raided Solyndra is asking bankruptcy court for permission to hand out $500,000 in bonuses to Solyndra employees.

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.”

On May 26, 2010, Obama visited Solyndra, boasted about the loan and said, “the true engine of economic growth will always be companies like Solyndra.” He praised Solyndra as a Recovery Act (stimulus) success story.

On September 6, 2011, Solyndra filed for bankruptcy. The immediate result was the layoff of 1,100 workers.

The scandal took another turn when, on September 8, 2011, the FBI raided Solyndra’s headquarters.

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.

The Washington Times reported:
Now seems an unlikely time for handing out bonuses at bankrupt Solyndra LLC, but that’s the plan of company attorneys intending to dole out up to a half-million dollars to persuade key employees to stay put.

Nearly two dozen Solyndra employees could receive bonuses ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 each under a proposal filed by Solyndra’s attorneys in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

The attorneys say the extra money will add motivation at a time when workers at the solar company have little job security and more responsibilities because so many of their colleagues have been fired.

The names of the bonus-eligible employees are not disclosed in the court filings that outline the bonus proposal. None of the employees is among the so-called corporate “insiders” – top officers or members of the board of directors, records show.

The proposed bonus recipients include nine equipment engineers, six general business and finance employees and up to two information technology workers.

The biggest bonus, for $50,000, would go to a Solyndra employee whose job title is listed as a senior director with a base salary of $206,499 per year. Two senior managers stand to receive bonuses of $30,000 and $32,500.

Related: Grand Jury Begins Investigation Into Solyndra
Taxpayers To Pay $13,000 Per Person To Retrain Solyndra Employees
Energy Secretary Chu Defends How Obama Admin Handled Solyndra
Solyndra Emails Show The Obama Administration Pushed Them To Keep Layoffs Quiet Until After 2010 Elections
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.