A Washington Post article alleges that the W.H. attempted to rush federal reviewers for a decision on the $500 million loan to Solyndra so that V.P. Biden could announce the approval at a 2009 groundbreaking ceremony for the company’s factory. The paper obtained emails, provided by Republican congressional investigators, dated from August of that year show administration officials repeatedly asking Office of Management and Budget when they would come to a decision, noting the looming press event at which they planned to announce the deal. In responses, OMB officials expressed concern that they were being rushed to approve the company’s loans without enough time to thoroughly assess the risks.
W.H. officials responded that no one in the administration tried to influence the OMB decision, claiming that the emails show only that the administration had a ‘quite active interest’ in the timing of the OMB’s decision.
