As Solyndra neared collapse, an alphabet soup of federal agencies tried to figure out the messaging and other aspects of the problem.
A White House memo that noted the danger of “imminent bankruptcy” at the end of August 2011 says, “OMB, DPC and NEC have been working with press and OLA to be prepared for this news to break.”
Acronym translation: OMB is the Office of Management and Budget, DPC is the Domestic Policy Council, NEC is the National Economic Council and OLA is the Office of Legal Affairs.
They “worked with the press”? Why, did the press throw half a billion dollars away on Solyndra?
We learn all this thanks to 432 pages of documents that the most transparent administration in history dumped on a Friday night. Earlier in the week, President Obama tried spinning Solyndra as a bipartisan failure, apparently because Republicans exist and a few were in Washington when his administration unilaterally decided to guarantee the loan via stimulus dollars from the bill passed by the Democrats.
It’s “working with press” not “working with THE press.” Probably shorthand for the press secretary’s office. Doesn’t detract from the main point that the administration was in full damage control mode.
Since the statute of limitations will still be in effect when Romney’s AG takes office in 2013, it will be fun to watch those involved in Solyndra, ENER1, Fisker, etc. scurry to some foreign country with no US extradition treaty. Either that, or they’ll start ratting each other out.
If the election looks like a lost cause in Sept. or Oct., I can even imagine Obama pulling a Tricky-Dick by first having Biden resign, then appointing Dingy Harry as the new VP, then Obama resigning himself, and finally having President Reid issue him a full pardon.
– five-alarm fire drill.
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That would rather amusing since a congressional investigation could place him on the stand and grill Mr. Obama without mercy since he could not plea the Fifth Amendment. If he tells the truth at very least it will be embarassing and if he lies he can be sanctioned for contempt of Congress. In addition this would encourage his associates to testify to get a plea bargain. And in addition if he took that path it almost certainly would indicate guilt and a chance to replace Buchanan as the worst president to date, or at least replace the Grant administration as the most corrupt.