House Judiciary chairman calls for appointment of special counsel in Solyndra loan

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee on Monday called for an independent investigator to look into a $528 million loan approved by the Obama administration for a now-bankrupt solar energy company. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said an outside lawyer is needed to determine “whether politics played a role” in the Energy Department loan for California-based Solyndra Inc., which declared bankruptcy this month and laid off its 1,100 workers. “An independent examiner will uncover the truth about whether politics played a role in influencing the Obama administration to favor Solyndra over more financially stable loan applicants and thus ensure the integrity of the bankruptcy process for all creditors,” Smith wrote in a three-page letter to Attorney General Eric Holder. The FBI and the Energy Department’s inspector general are already investigating the Solyndra loan, which has become a flashpoint in a partisan debate over subsidies for so-called green jobs...more