October 5, 2011

Hindsight?
Both Obama And Energy Secretary Chu Say Hindsight Is 20/20 On Solyndra, But They Were Warned That The Deal Could Go Bad And Chose To Ignore The Facts
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OBAMA AND SECRETARY CHU DOWNPLAY SOLYNDRA SCANDAL, CLAIM HINDSIGHT IS ALWAYS 20/20
President Obama: Well-- You Know, It-- Hindsight Is Always 20/20. It Went Through The Regular Review Process. And People Felt Like This Was A Good Bet. (President Obama, George Stephanopoulos' ABC News / Yahoo!
News Exclusive Interview With President Obama, ABC News, 10/3/11)

Watch Obamas Comments Here

Secretary Chu: "The details of Solyndra ...there are all sorts of people who have wonderful 20/20 hindsight, but I dont think most of that is born out by going back and looking at what really was happening." (Kerry Picket,
Exclusive - Chu On Solyndra Critics: 'There Are All Sorts Of People Who Have Wonderful 20/20 Hindsight,' The Washington Times, 10/4/11)

Watch Chus Comments Here

BUT THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IGNORED SOLYNDRAS ABUNDANT RED FLAGS

[A]gain And Again, The Obama Administration Pressed Forth In Support Of Solyndra In The Face Of Glaring Warning Signs Sent Up From Even Its Own Staffers. (Ronnie Greene And Matthew Mosk, Obama Administration
Agreed To Solyndra Loan Days After Insiders Foresaw Firm's Failure, iWatch News, 9/14/11)

[O]bamas Energy Department Pressed Forth In The Face Of Abundant Red Flags In Awarding Its Maiden Green Energy Financing. An iWatch News dissection of the financing based on records, interviews and documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows that Obamas Energy Department pressed forth in the face of abundant red flags in awarding its maiden green energy financing. Money approved even as outside rating agencies assessed the company as speculative. (Ronnie Greene, Recurring
Red Flags Failed To Slow Obama Administration's Race To Help Solyndra, iWatch News, 9/13/11)

When Looking At The Conditional Loan Guarantee In March 2009, OMB Said Solyndra Was Not Ready For Prime Time
OMB Had Deep Reservations About The Solyndra Loan. The emails also show deep reservations from analysts at the Office of Management and Budget about the decision to loan $535 million to Solyndra -reservations that have since been justified. (Matthew Mosk And Ronnie Greene, Obama on Solyndra: 'Hindsight Is Always 20/20,' ABC
News, 10/3/11)

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March 10, 2009: WH Budget Analyst Said Solyndra Is NOT Ready For Prime Time This deal is not ready for prime time, one White House budget analyst wrote in a March 10, 2009 email, nine days before the administration formally announced the loan. (Matthew Mosk, Brian Ross And Ronnie Greene, Emails: Obama White House
Monitored Huge Loan to 'Connected' Firm, ABC News & iWatch News, 9/13/11)

Obama White House Ignored Warnings That Solyndra Was Not Ready For Prime Time. One e-mail, uncovered by the House Energy and Commerce Committee and reported by ABC News, is from a White House budget analyst warning then-Vice President Bidens chief of staff, Ron Klain, that the 2009 Department of Energy loan was not ready for prime time.(Alexander Mooney, White House Beats Back
Claim It Pressured Loan To Now-Bankrupt Company. CNN, 9/14/11)

Before Closing The Loan Guarantee In August 2009, OMB Complained About Being Rushed, And Wanted To Postpone The Announcement
August 2009: OMB Staffer Complained About Having To Do Rushed Approvals And That They Would Prefer To Have Sufficient Time To Do Our Due Diligence Reviews. We have ended up with a situation of having to do rushed approvals on a couple of occasions (and we are worried about Solyndra at the end of the week), one official wrote. That Aug. 31, 2009, message, written by a senior OMB staffer and sent to Terrell P. McSweeny, Bidens domestic policy adviser, concluded, We would prefer to have sufficient time to do our due diligence reviews. (Joe Stephens and Carol D. Leonnig, White House Pressed On $500 Million Loan To Solar Company Now
Under Investigation, The Washington Post, 9/13/11)

August 2009: OMB Staffer Complained About Time Pressure We Are Under To Sign-Off On Solyndra. One e-mail from an OMB official referred to the time pressure we are under to sign-off on Solyndra.(Joe Stephens and Carol D. Leonnig, White House Pressed On $500 Million Loan To Solar Company Now Under Investigation, The Washington
Post, 9/13/11)

Another Complained, There Isnt Time To Negotiate.(Joe Stephens and Carol D. Leonnig, White House Pressed On
$500 Million Loan To Solar Company Now Under Investigation, The Washington Post, 9/13/11)

The OMB Was Frustrated That The White House Was Pressuring Them On The Solyndra Loan SignOff. In the e-mails, officials at the Office of Management and Budget expressed frustration that they were being put under time pressure to sign off on the loan to the company, Solyndra, two years ago so that Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. could announce its approval at a groundbreaking for a factory. (Matthew L.
Wald And Charlie Savage, Furor Over Loans To Failed Solar Firm, The New York Times, 9/14/11)

When Pressured By White House Chief Of Staff Office, OMB Staff Responded: I Would Prefer That This Announcement Be Postponed. ... This Is The First Loan Guarantee And We Should Have Full Review With All Hands On Deck To Make Sure We Get It Right. In one e-mail, an assistant to Rahm Emanuel, then White House chief of staff, wrote on Aug. 31, 2009, to OMB about the upcoming Biden announcement on Solyndra and asked whether there is anything we can help speed along on OMB side. An OMB staff member responded: I would prefer that this announcement be postponed. ... This is the first loan guarantee and we should have full review with all hands on deck to make sure we get it right.(Joe Stephens and
Carol D. Leonnig, White House Pressed On $500 Million Loan To Solar Company Now Under Investigation, The Washington Post, 9/13/11)

And OMB Knew That Solyndra Was Going To Leave Taxpayers On The Hook Before The Loan Was Finalized
Obamas Energy Department Knew In August Of 2009 That Solyndra Would Run Out Of Money In September 2011, Leaving Taxpayers On The Hook. On August 20, 2009, an Energy Department staffer examining a pending loan to a California clean energy start-up came to a startling conclusion: The company would run out of money by September 2011. The government would, in effect, be placing taxpayers on the
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hook for a business likely to founder. (Ronnie Greene And Matthew Mosk, Obama Administration Agreed To Solyndra Loan Days After
Insiders Foresaw Firm's Failure, iWatch News, 9/14/11)

Still, Things Moved And Fast. (Ronnie Greene And Matthew Mosk, Obama Administration Agreed To Solyndra Loan Days After
Insiders Foresaw Firm's Failure, iWatch News, 9/14/11)

Fifteen Days After The Warning, The Obama Administration Announced Solyndras Loan Guarantee. Only 15 days after the staffers warning, the Obama administration announced its commitment to lend Solyndra Inc., a California manufacturer of rooftop solar panels, $535 million as part of the stimulus program to spark the nations sagging economy and put Americans back to work. (Ronnie Greene And Matthew Mosk, Obama Administration Agreed To Solyndra Loan Days After Insiders Foresaw Firm's Failure, iWatch
News, 9/14/11)

AND BEFORE THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION DOUBLED DOWN ON SOLYNDRA IN JANUARY, THERE WERE EVEN MORE WARNING SIGNS SIGNALING THAT BAD DAYS ARE COMING
Whats Terrifying Is That After Looking At Some Of The Ones That Came Next, This One [Solyndra] Started To Look Better, Another OMB E-Mail Exchange Said Of Solyndra. Bad Days Are Coming. (Amy
Harder, E-Mails Show Obama Was Warned; Bitter OMB, DOE Divide Over Solyndra, National Journal, 10/3/11)

The White House Knew Solyndra Would Need More Taxpayer Help Before Obama Visited
Before Obamas 2010 Visit, Bidens Chief Of Staff Ron Klain Knew That Solyndra Will Need Some Help Of One Kind Or Another Down The Road. Ron Klain, then-chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, e-mailed Rod OConnor, the chief of staff at DOE, to assess Solyndras financial standing. OConnor conceded the company would not survive as-is for too long. Bottom line is that we believe the company is okay in the medium term, but will need some help of one kind or another down the road, OConnor said to Klain in a May 24, 2010, e-mail. (Amy Harder, E-Mails Show Obama Was Warned; Bitter OMB, DOE Divide Over Solyndra, National Journal, 10/3/11) Mega-Bundler Steve Westly E-mailed With Valerie Jarrett Warning Her Of Solyndras Potential Political Fallout. Steve Westly, a California venture capitalist who raised more than $500,000 for Obama's campaign, exchanged emails with Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama's closest advisers, to warn her about political fallout that could ensue if the president visited the factory being built by Solyndra. (Matthew Mosk And
Ronnie Greene, Obama on Solyndra: 'Hindsight Is Always 20/20,' ABC News, 10/3/11)

Westly Email To Jarrett: Could you perhaps check with [the Energy Department] to make sure they're comfortable with the company? I just want to help protect the president from anything that could result in negative or unfair press. (Matthew Mosk And Ronnie Greene, Obama on Solyndra: 'Hindsight Is Always 20/20,'
ABC News, 10/3/11)

Westly: If it's too late to change/postpone the meeting, the president should be careful about unrealistic/optimistic forecasts that could haunt him in the next 18 months if Solyndra hits the wall, files for bankruptcy. (Matthew Mosk And Ronnie Greene, Obama on Solyndra: 'Hindsight Is Always 20/20,' ABC News, 10/3/11)

Knowing Full Well That Solyndra Could Go Belly Up, Obama Dismissed Concerns And Visited The Company. White House officials dismissed concerns about Solyndra LLC ahead of President Barack Obama's May 2010 visit to the failed solar-panel maker, despite acknowledging that the company and other clean-energy ventures could go "belly-up" by the 2012 election, according to emails released by Democratic lawmakers. (Deborah Solomon, White House Brushed Off Solyndra Worries, Emails Show, The Wall Street Journal, 10/3/11)

In Late 2010 When Solyndra Defaulted On Their Loan, The Obama Administration Again Dismissed The Glaring Risks And Put Taxpayers At Risk When They Restructured The Loan
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The U.S. Department Of Energy Learned In December That Solyndra Was Violating Its Federal Loan Deal, But The Agency Changed The Loan Terms To Allow The Solar Company To Continue Receiving Taxpayer Funds, Federal Officials Confirmed Wednesday. (Carol Leonig, Solyndra Violated Loan Terms In 2010 But Got More
Federal Money, DOE Confirms, The Washington Post, 9/28/11)

Solyndra Technically Defaulted On Its Government Loan In Late 2010. Solyndra LLC had such steep financial problems in late 2010 that the company violated terms of its loan-guarantee agreement with the Department of Energy and technically defaulted on its $535 million loan, according to people familiar with the matter. (Deborah Solomon, Solyndra Said To Have Violated Terms Of Its US Loan, The Wall Street Journal, 9/28/11)

Solyndra Failed To Pay A $5 Million Payment In December 2010. The failed solar-panel maker, which is under numerous criminal and congressional investigations, ran so short of cash in December 2010 that it was unable to satisfy certain terms of its U.S. loan agreement, these people said. The agreement required Solyndra to provide $5 million in equity to a subsidiary building its factory but cash-flow problems prevented those payments. (Deborah Solomon, Solyndra Said To Have Violated Terms
Of Its US Loan, The Wall Street Journal, 9/28/11)

January 2011: Federal Reviewers Said It Would Be Far Cheaper To Not Restructure The Loan. New records obtained by The Washington Post show that some federal reviewers warned internally earlier this year that it would be far cheaper for the government to allow Solyndra to shut down and sell off its assets, rather than to restructure the deal and bet on the company recovering. (Carol D. Leonning And Joe Stephens, Lawmakers
Question Solyndra Loan Decision, The Washington Post, 9/14/11)

A Preliminary Estimate By The Office Of Management And Budget In January Showed That Restructuring Solyndra Could Cost Taxpayers Up To $168 Million More Than Liquidation. (Carol
D. Leonning And Joe Stephens, Lawmakers Question Solyndra Loan Decision, The Washington Post, 9/14/11)

OMB Staffers Warned That Restructuring Solyndras Loan Would Be Throwing Good Money After Bad. OMB staff members had warned that the Energy Departments restructuring of Solyndras loan might be throwing good money after bad, other e-mails show, and could cost taxpayers $168 million more than if Solyndra had liquidated in January. (Carol D. Leonnig & Joe Stephens, Obama Administration Emails: Giving More Taxpayer Money To
Solyndra Was Risky, The Washington Post, 9/15/11)

OMB Staffer Emailed That An Early Solyndra Default Wouldnt Hurt The Administration As Much As A Default Around The 2012 Campaign Season. The optics of a Solyndra default will be bad, the Office of Management and Budget staff member wrote Jan. 31 in an e-mail to a co-worker. If Solyndra defaults down the road, the optics will be arguably worse later than they would be today. ... In addition, the timing will likely coincide with the 2012 campaign season heating up. (Carol D. Leonnig & Joe Stephens, Obama Administration Emails: Giving
More Taxpayer Money To Solyndra Was Risky, The Washington Post, 9/15/11)

"The Optics Of A Solyndra Default Will Be Bad, An Official From The Office Of Management And Budget Wrote In A Jan. 31 Email To A Senior OMB Official. The Timing Will Likely Coincide With The 2012 Campaign Season Heating Up."(Matthew Daly, White House Worried About Solyndra
Default, The Associated Press, 9/15/11)

Obamas Department Of Energy Made The Decision To Waive Its Privilege As First Creditor In Solyndra Loan. That decision in February gave Solyndra a temporary reprieve and a chance to survive, but it also forced the government to waive its privilege as first creditor in the event of a bankruptcy which then occurred at the end of August. (Matthew L. Wald, Questions Raised Over Letting Another Lender Help A Failing Solar Company, The New
York Times, 9/16/11)

And Allowed Taxpayers To Take A Backseat To Private Investors When It Came To Recouping Their Losses. And as part of the deal, the Energy Department agreed that if the company went bust,
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private investors could recoup their losses before the government. (Ronnie Greene And Matthew Mosk, Obama
Officials Sat In On Solyndra Meetings, iWatch And ABC News, 9/9/11)

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IGNORED THE PRIVATE SECTOR WHO HAD KNOWN THAT SOLYNDRA WAS A BAD EGG
Industry Officials Say Solyndra Was A Bad Egg With A Bad Business Plan. Solar and wind industry officials insist Solyndra the recipient of $535 million in federal loan guarantees and a personal visit from President Barack Obama is just a bad egg with a bad business plan. (Darren Samuelsohn, Solyndra Scandal A PR
Nightmare, Politico, 9/12/11)

Even In 2008, Solyndra Received Non-Investment Grade Ratings From Outside Agencies Such As Fitch And Dun & Bradstreet. First signs came in 2008, as Solyndra, then just three years old, pushed ahead with its application for government backing to build a new plant to produce its unique solar panels. An outside rating agency, Fitch, gave Solyndra a B+ credit rating that August. Two months earlier, in June 2008, Dun & Bradstreet issued a credit appraisal of the company. Its assessment: Fair. Those are not top of the line scores. Fitch Ratings spokeswoman Cindy Stoller said she could not discuss the Solyndra review specifically, but said of a B+ rating: Its a non-investment grade rating. (Ronnie Greene, Recurring Red Flags Failed To Slow
Obama Administration's Race To Help Solyndra, iWatch News, 9/13/11)

By The Time The Energy Department Chose Solyndra For A Half-Billion-Dollar Loan In September 2009, A Fateful Market Trend Had Already Been Building. (Saqib Rahim And Peter Behr, How Well Did DOE Know Solyndras
Technology And Its Market Vulnerabilities? The New York Times, 9/15/11)

Polysilicon Prices Flattened Out By May 2009, Resting Below Its Peak Price. But the price of polysilicon began a steep descent in February 2008, slumped again through the presidential election, and flattened out around May 2009 far below its peak, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. It fell from $475 per kilogram in February 2008 to $73 per kilogram in May 2009, the Bloomberg data show. (Saqib Rahim And Peter Behr, How Well Did DOE Know Solyndras Technology And Its Market Vulnerabilities? The New York
Times, 9/15/11)

The Price Collapse For Polysilicon Was Only A Question Of When, Not If. No one expected the polysilicon price to dive so quickly, Mehta admitted, but the crash itself was always on the horizon. It was only a question of when, not if. You could make that claim. (Saqib Rahim And Peter Behr, How Well Did DOE
Know Solyndras Technology And Its Market Vulnerabilities? The New York Times, 9/15/11)

So The Price Drop Meant That Before Solyndra Had Received A Single DOE Loan Guarantee Dollar, A Major Part Of Its Cost Proposition Had Been Undermined, If Not Erased. (Saqib Rahim And Peter Behr, How Well Did
DOE Know Solyndras Technology And Its Market Vulnerabilities? The New York Times, 9/15/11)

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