SAN FRANCISCO At an exclusive re election fundraiser tonight, President Obama hobnobbed with 60 of his wealthiest supporters, including two figures at the center of the Solyndra loan controversy.
Steve Westly, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, was one of the first to raise red flags about the administrations support for a $500 million loan to Solyndra, the solar energy start up that later went bankrupt.
He wrote directly to senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett in 2010 to raise concerns about the companys viability ahead of the presidents high profile visit that year.
Rogers, the Energy Department official overseeing the loan guarantee program, said in March 2009, just days before Solyndra got its provisional loan commitment.
Both men were spottedby White House print pool reporter Darren Samuelsohn of Politico at the Piedmont, Calif.
, home of Quinn Delaney and Wayne Jordan, who were hosting the $35,800 a head event.
Samuelsohn noted that Westly was seen near the pool juggling lemons, entertaining kids at the party.
Republicans have seized on Obamas ties to Westly and Rogers and the Solyndra loan as part of their case that the president engages in crony capitalism.
The original clean energy program was hardly some Democratic scheme: It was created by President Bush, whose administration was already considering Solyndra’s loan application when Obama took office.
The Obama Administration betrayed American taxpayers when it dumped hundreds of millions of public dollars into Solyndra while ignoring clear warnings about the companys dire financial situation, Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams said in a statement.
President Obamas first term worked out well for his donors who got special access and taxpayer money for their failed ventures, Williams said.
The other was working to get taxpayer money out the door from the moment it stepped into the office.
It hasn’t worked as well for the 23 million Americans struggling for work in the worst economic recovery our country has ever had.
Before receiving a fast tracked loan from the Obama administration in 2010, Solyndra had been singled out by both Republicans and Democrats as a promising venture potentially worthy of government investment.
Rupert Dresser is a business journalist based in Adelaide, Australia. Rupert has a passion for financial markets and breaking news stories and loves writing about business news, stock market, and economic opinions that matters most to its audience. Rupert spends a lot of time discovering and researching latest financial markets and industry news stories in order to make sure the latest and greatest stories are brought to you first on BigBoardNews.com.
