WH pressures pentagon to favor dem donor's start up

[del]

i mean it's not like military GPS is important or anything

LightSquared: Did White House Pressure General Shelton to Help Donor? - The Daily Beast

Melanie Sloan, who runs the nonpartisan ethics groups Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the emerging allegations about possible White House involvement in LightSquared’s matter seemed to mirror earlier allegations in the Solyndra case.

“With this new set of facts, it starts to sound like a pattern of the White House improperly pressuring people at agencies involving decisions that affect companies tied to donors and fundraisers,” Sloan said. “It’s always a problem when the White House is pressuring anyone’s testimony. I don’t care if you are a four-star [general] or a GS-15 [career employee], you should be giving your true opinion and not an opinion the White House is seeking for political expediency."

Sloan recalled similar instances during the Bush administration, when officials were accused of trying to meddle with climate scientists’ testimony. “It doesn’t matter what party is in charge, money frequently trumps good policy in Washington,” she said.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

Not surprising.

 

[waltky]

Right when we need alternative energy...

Fury over Solyndra loan threatens to sunset solar investments
09/18/11 : Political fury over a failed $535 million loan guarantee to an Obama administration-backed solar company is threatening to poison the well for future green investments.

The Obama administration is doubling down on its support for renewable energy, stressing that it will move forward on more loans like the one to Solyndra, the California-based company that announced its bankruptcy late last month. In fact, as many as 14 new loan guarantees from the Energy Department — nine of which are for solar projects — could be finalized by the end of the month. But congressional Republicans have signaled they’re prepared to start a huge political fight with the White House over the investments. The fight could be a major campaign theme next year, particularly since the loans are tied to the 2009 economic stimulus package the GOP already believes is a political liability for President Obama.

This fight, experts said, is likely to compound an already dismal outlook for federal investments in solar and wind power, despite arguments that the U.S. needs to act quickly to compete with China and other countries developing similar technologies. “Can you imagine the Congress voting on anything generous for the solar industry right now? I don’t think so,” said Paula Mints, a solar industry analyst at Navigant Consulting. Republicans ratcheted up their criticism of the administration over Solyndra this week, releasing a series of emails they say show that the White House tried to rush a final decision on the company’s financing so that Vice President Biden could announce approval of the loan guarantee at the September 2009 groundbreaking for the company’s new factory.

The White House has dismissed the allegations, arguing that the emails were a “scheduling matter” and had no impact on the decision to finalize the loan guarantee. Still, Republicans have continued to pummel the administration on the Solyndra bankruptcy; Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations subscommittee, said Friday that Jonathan Silver, executive director of the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, should be fired. “We’re not done with this issue yet and we’re going to see where this takes us,” full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) told The Hill Thursday.

The solar industry is worried the fight will debilitate government support for a nascent industry. “The Solyndra bankruptcy has definitely given the Obama administration and the solar industry a black eye, there’s no denying that,” said M.J. Shiao, a solar market analyst at GTM Research. Still, although many have offered gloom-and-doom predictions about the U.S. solar industry, analysts say the reality is far more complicated.

Source

See also:

Rahm Emanuel: I don’t remember Solyndra
9/19/11 : Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel says that he doesn’t recall the Obama administration’s loan to Solyndra, the bankrupt solar panel manufacturer that received more than $500 million in taxpayer loans and is now under investigation.

Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago, told local radio station WLS that he was not going to talk about the company. “I don’t actually remember that or know about it. So, what I’m dealing is with what I’m dealing with here today,” Emanuel told a reporter.

Pressed by the reporter on whether he thought there was appropriate due diligence on the loan, Emanuel said, “I’m talking about healthcare today.” Emanuel was chief of staff at the White House when the loan was being considered.

Solyndra, a “green jobs” firm with ties to both political parties, declared bankruptcy in August and soon thereafter was raided by the FBI in a criminal probe apparently related to the loan guarantee. The White House says that the loan process was done in a fully appropriate manner.

Read more: Rahm Emanuel: I don?t remember Solyndra - Tim Mak - POLITICO.com