Solyndra Executives To Plead The Fifth At Hearing
WASHINGTON -- Two of Solyndra's top executives announced on Tuesday they will invoke their Fifth Amendment rights and refuse to answer any questions about the company's collapse at an upcoming House hearing.
Lawyers representing Solyndra CEO Brian Harrison and CFO W.G. Stover told the House Energy and Commerce’s subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight that their clients have been counseled to decline all lines of questioning in light of the Justice Department's criminal investigation, Reuters reported.
"[D]ue to the ongoing Department of Justice investigation and on the advice of their counsel, they will be unable to provide substantive answers to the Subcommittee’s questions and that present circumstances require both gentlemen to exercise their fifth amendment rights in the face of questioning that might occur," wrote Solyndra in a statement.
"The company is not aware of any wrongdoing by Solyndra officers, directors or employees in conjunction with the DOE loan guarantee or otherwise, and the company is cooperating fully with the office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California in its investigation.
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) on Tuesday issued a statement blasting Solyndra's executives for reneging on written assurances that they would testify and implored them to reconsider the decision.
Who exactly are Solyndra’s executives trying to protect and what are they trying to hide? Despite repeated assurances that they would testify voluntarily and answer questions this Friday, today we received the news that these executives – who had plenty to say to federal officials when securing half a billion dollars in taxpayer funding for their venture – plan to invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and will not answer questions from Congress...Both Mr. Stover and Mr. Harrison will be sworn in under oath this Friday. We have many questions for Solyndra’s executives on their dealings with the Obama administration, their efforts to secure federal support for a project that appeared doomed from the outset, and why they made certain representations to Congress regarding their dire financial situation just two months ago. We would encourage Mr. Harrison and Mr. Stover to reconsider this effort to dodge questions under oath and hide the truth from those American taxpayers who are now on the hook for their $500 million bust.
Once touted as a model for green energy, Solyndra received a $535 million federal loan guarantee from the federal government, before laying off 1,100 workers and and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month.
Read the full statement from Solyndra below:
Today Solyndra’s President and CEO, Brian Harrison, and its CFO, Bill Stover, communicated to Chairman Stearns and Members of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations that, due to the ongoing Department of Justice investigation and on the advice of their counsel, they will be unable to provide substantive answers to the Subcommittee’s questions and that present circumstances require both gentlemen to exercise their fifth amendment rights in the face of questioning that might occur.The company is not aware of any wrongdoing by Solyndra officers, directors or employees in conjunction with the DOE loan guarantee or otherwise, and the company is cooperating fully with the office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California in its investigation. The company believes that the record will establish that Solyndra carefully followed the rules of the competitive application process, starting in December 2006 under the Bush administration and continuing under the Obama administration. The Department of Energy (DOE) conducted extensive due diligence on Solyndra prior to final approval of the DOE loan guarantee. Consistent with the DOE loan guarantee program requirements, all loan proceeds were used to build out the company’s state of the art Fab 2 facility from green field to a working fab that was already producing panels at an annual run rate of over 100 megawatts when operations were suspended in connection with the Chapter 11 reorganization filing.
At the same time Solyndra was successfully building out its Fab 2 facility, the competitive landscape for solar photovoltaic panels was changing dramatically. Market conditions led to an oversupply of panels worldwide, which had a substantial negative impact on pricing of the company’s panels and the company’s ability to rapidly ramp its sales. As late as August, the company believed that existing investors and the DOE would come to a financing arrangement that would have secured the capital the company needed to achieve positive cash flow from operations. The Company’s investors had offered a transaction pursuant to which the required capital would have been invested, however, the terms of such transaction were not acceptable to the DOE. Ultimately, it was a failure to secure this financing that left the company with no other option but to seek to reorganize through a bankruptcy filing under Chapter 11.
The decision to suspend operations and file for reorganization has had a devastating effect on the company’s talented workforce as well as a negative impact on the businesses of Solyndra’s valued partners, suppliers and customers. This was not a decision taken lightly. The majority of Solyndra’s workforce was in the United States and the company did all that it could to keep these manufacturing jobs that are so vital to the country, in place. A small number of employees remain while Solyndra evaluates options, including a sale of the business and the licensing of its advanced CIGS technology and manufacturing expertise in order to maximize the value of the assets for Solyndra’s creditors, including the DOE.
The company is confident that the investigation will clarify the facts surrounding the events leading to the DOE loan guarantee to Solyndra and looks forward to a time when its executives can more freely discuss their views on these events.
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The Huffington Post Lucia Graves First Posted: 09/20/11 07:36 PM ET Updated: 11/20/11 05:12 AM ET