Solyndra Executives Stay Silent At Hearing (VIDEO)

WASHINGTON -- Solyndra executives invoked their Fifth Amendment rights more than a dozen times as House Republicans pressed them for answers regarding the solar company's collapse two years after receiving a $535 million federal loan guarantee.

"On the advice of my counsel, I invoke the privilege afforded by the Fifth Amendament of the U.S. Constitution and I respectfully decline to answer any questions," said Solyndra Chief Financial Officer W.G. Stover Jr. at a Friday hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee investigative panel.

CEO Brian Harrison gave the same response, telling chairman of the Energy and Commerce oversight subpanel Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) he hoped to assist the committee in the future.

Still Republicans plowed ahead with their questions.

"What is your plan to pay back the taxpayers the $535 million you owe them?" Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) asked the executives. "And when will you pay them back?"

Such lines of questioning drew sharp criticism from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who accused Republicans of seeking soundbites rather than answers.

"I just want to take this moment to assert the fact that I think it's unseemly and inappropriate for members to be asking questions that you know they will not answer," Waxman said, noting that a number of these same lawmakers had sought federal subsidies for clean energy in their districts, a point that has repeatedly been pushed by the White House.

Upton retorted that spotlighting lawmakers' past support for energy projects in their home states was hardly an appropriate way to respond to the Solyndra scandal.

"Let me just warn you and the other folks involved in this taxpayer rip-off," said Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of Energy and Commerce. "We're not done. No we're not."

In an interview with HuffPost after the hearing, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) echoed that sentiment.

"Investigations take time. Obviously no one in the White House wants to be truly cooperative, so you just have to take it a day at a time. But we'll get there," said Barton. "The American people put a half a billion dollars into Solyndra. That's a lot of incentive to get to the bottom of this."

WATCH highlights from the hearing below:

Comments

[gerald4]

10:09 AM on 09/26/2011

Can somebody please explain to me how bleeding government guaranteed funds into executive paychecks, "marketing expenses", lobbying expenses, political contributions, entertainm­ent expenses, jobs for friends and relatives, new automobile­s, and other unnecessar­y expenses because the entreprene­urs will normally bleed all of any borrowed capital assets out of each start-up company into their own pockets, their relatives pockets and their friends pockets until all of the "free government­" start-up capital is gone, then the business declares bankruptcy and does not have to repay the US government loan, because the taxpayers will have to repay that loan IS DIFFERENT FROM ARMED BANK ROBBERY?

Solyndra used pens instead of guns?

Solyndra had political influence?

Politicians benefitted from the Solyndra's free money?

[Genders]

04:33 PM on 10/02/2011

And installed 100MW of solar. What does war create, or bankster bailouts, or take cut for tie ingrate rich?

You have never run a corporation, or you would know that the way the pay and perks go.

What about the 54B$ in nukes loan backing? for 50% failure rate industry.

R&D in new tech fails most of the time.

Let the courts decide, leave the GOP Tory house out of it.

[Brian Novotny]

09:58 AM on 09/26/2011

How about the billions in equipment we are leaving behind in Iraq from the fake GWB/Cheney/Halliburton war, where is that money? Grow up, if you want to give heat, you better be able to take it.

[brokerallen]

11:47 PM on 09/25/2011

Just some GOP congressmen grandstanding. Why would anyone willingly subject themselves to these phonies.

[Genders]

11:47 PM on 09/25/2011

As they should. This is a GOP/Tea fossil and nukes bought kangaroo court.

[vetxcl]

09:41 PM on 09/25/2011

And yet, despite setbacks the forward movement continues. http://cleantechnica.com/2011/09/24/%e2%80%9chow-obamas-green-energy-agenda-is-killing-jobs%e2%80%9d/
Note the figures that confirm common knowledge.

[illusi0n]

11:31 PM on 09/24/2011

This is an utter disgrace ! People on both sides of the isles should be totally outraged by these dealings. Republcians and Democrats alike should demand that the peoples tax dollars be repaid immediately and in full.

[KevinFletcherTweedy]

03:13 PM on 09/25/2011

What I'm concerned with is all those congressmen enjoying the "isles" while I am continually outraged at the indisputable fact that at Safeway and Wal-Mart the aisles get more and more narrow -- sort of like your thinking, "illusi0n". Bush had his flirtations with Enron and unfortunately, it seems the stimulus folks fell for a couple of alleged schemers without completely vetting the deal. Fraud goes on.

[illusi0n]

11:57 PM on 09/25/2011

WOW, you sure are in a good mood.

[silverwolf13]

08:38 PM on 09/24/2011

So they took the 5th. If this had been a real investigation, that might have suggested something. But since this was just a Republican photo op, what's the problem with people asserting their constitutional rights? Or are the Tea Partiers out to repeal the Fifth Amendment as well?

Before we go further, may I suggest that someone research the percentage of Small Business Administration loans that default? I suspect that it is fairly high; otherwise, banks would be much more active in this area. Is the loan guarantee to Solyndra out of the ordinary? If not, what's the problem?

[marob95]

02:56 PM on 09/24/2011

the only green in this investment "WAS" yours and mine......................

[riley85]

02:55 PM on 09/24/2011

Obama was just looking out for "the folks" when he decided to invest $530M in a risky company.
By "the folks" I mean Obama's rich crony campaign donors.

You would think that even the left would be infuriated by one of the ugliest parts of this scandal: The Obama Administration restructured the loan to protect the rich investors ahead of the taxpayers.
That should prove without a doubt who Obama works for and it is not us.

[alvdh1]

02:17 PM on 09/25/2011

Can you count the trillions on this favorite 100 list of Baby Bush and Backroom Deals Cheney scandals and blunders?

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2004/05/b64326.html

[Huntergp02]

12:19 PM on 09/24/2011

I just realized something, the only defense I see on here that dems have of Obama is that Bush invested in Halliburton, so all politicians do this. So, on that I will say, ok, you can have your point, but, at least Bush had sense enough to invest in a company that grew jobs and grew their base, rather than one that went bankrupt after receiving a half billion.

[alvdh1]

02:18 PM on 09/25/2011

Hear is the horse sense you refer to with regard to Bush/Cheney.

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2004/05/b64326.html

[Genders]

04:39 PM on 10/02/2011

Then you didn't read my comments. I have attacked Chu and the Obama admin for their official DOE report that biased the costs for solar by using old costs, and for Fossil and nukes using industry dream for 2016. That could be why Chu thought this was a good deal at 9$ per watt, from his own admin's numbers, but the real market is less than 2$ per wP installed.

Still, we got 100MW of solar installed, 100M$ in avoided unemployed, the money was spent in the USA. So that's way better than trillion spent on War, a total waste, bankster bailout and ingrate rich tax breaks. Halliburton is a criminal corporate person, and you are proud of creating it? Wow.

Obama and DLC Reaganomics lovers are not good. They are just way better than GOP/Tea folks. Grow up.

Dems need to vote for the CPC progressives, the Kucinich, Dean, Grayson folks in the primaries, but the Dems in general, because the the GOP/Tea are much worse.

[VFNY]

11:16 AM on 09/24/2011

$2 Million in lobbying gets $535 Million in loans... Not a bad return on their investment. And, with modern day politicians (Republican and Democrat alike) lobbying money and political donations are truly an investment. Yes, CEO's are using the system to their advantage, but it's the politicians that make it all possible. Bush gave Halliburton and other favored companies many, many breaks - Obama has Solyndra and a looong list of his own. Both are disgraceful. It's not the rich that get away with things in this country (think Leona Helmsley and Martha Stuart), it's the politically connected that get away with everything (think Charles Rangel). These two parties are inherently corrupted, yet we continue to align ourselves with one or the other . We are like sheep led to a slaughter. It's time to open our eyes and see that both Bush and Obama are really thieves-in-chief, both using the public kitty to their own advantage. Pols have tricked us into being their fans as if they are a sports team, and they've duped us into believing that we should blame the recipient of dollars and not the facilitator of the funds. Republicans blame welfare recipients and democrats blame businesses, yet both these groups are just accepting what's offered to them. It's the pols that are really stealing the money (Solyndra didn't write the check).. The sad part is that it's so enormous and so far gone, it may well be too late to fix it.

[Huntergp02]

12:10 PM on 09/24/2011

If what you are saying is true, and I believe it mostly is, at least Bush invested in a company that grew jobs, not one that went bankrupt...

[demsrsilly]

11:08 AM on 09/24/2011

Anyone else find it unseemly and inappropriate that waxman does not want to get to the bottom of how a half a billion dollars was spent on a photo op?

[walkingwolf]

10:28 AM on 09/24/2011

I f stupid were trees..huffpost would be a forest

[walkingwolf]

10:27 AM on 09/24/2011

I just love how stupid some people are in here with their post replies...when I read their idiotic ramblings or responses I feel like a real genius

[Jimbo2001]

10:02 AM on 09/24/2011

You don't have to think much to visualize how the libs would be reacting if this had happened under the Bush administration. Funny thing is they even made a feeble attempt to blame it on President Bush, by claiming the Solyndra requests first came during his presidency. They then leave out that the Bush administration turned them down. If it had happened then, it would be an above the fold headline in every newspaper for months. It might even drown out Fast and Furious, which would have monopolized the news up until then.

[Genders]

04:41 PM on 10/02/2011

We libs, like our Locke liberals founders, are not happy with the failure of this company. But we believe in the rule of law and will let the courts decide if there was malfeasance. Obama is not libs, nor progressives, but Reaganomics loving moderate republic. You should love him.