MSM Ignores Latest Solyndra Scandal

 By now everyone knows that the Obama administration, through the Department of Energy (DOE), asked Solyndra to delay laying off 180 employees until November 3, 2010, the day after midterm congressional elections.

A memo prepared by GOP staff at the House Energy and Commerce Committee cites an October, 2010, email from an unnamed Solyndra investment adviser to another unidentified investment adviser. The email said DOE officials were pushing “very hard” to delay announcing the layoffs until November 3, 2010, – the day after the midterm elections. The email said, “Oddly they didn’t give a reason for that date.”

Solyndra CEO Brian Harrison told the DOE that he had “received some press inquiries about rumors of problems,” and also notified DOE that he wanted to tell employees about upcoming layoffs on October 28, 2010. According to the GOP memo, Harrison’s email was forwarded to Jonathan Silver, then head of the DOE Loan Programs Office, and to Energy Secretary Chu’s chief of staff. Silver forwarded the email to Ron Klain, then Vice President Biden’s chief of staff, as well as Carol Browner, then head of the White House climate change office.

An October 30, 2010, email in which an unidentified Argonaut executive tells Ken Levit, director of George Kaiser’s charity, “No announcement till after elections at doe request.” was released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s oversight subcommittee. Argonaut Private Equity, BTW, is the investment firm that backed Solyndra and is owned by Obama fundraiser George Kaiser.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said last week that GOP lawmakers have “cherry-picked” documents, trying to create controversy over a decision-making process that the White House insists involved no political influence.

While The Washington Post, no bastion of conservatism, gave front-page coverage to the latest Solyndra scandal development, the MSM ignored the layoff delay request. ABC, CBS, and NBC all ignored this latest Solyndra development in their November 15, 2011, evening newscasts, and on their November 16, 2011, morning programs. Both Fox’s Fox and Friends and MSNBC’s Morning Joe commented on the lack of coverage.The MSM has a history of ignoring Obama scandals.