2) Solyndra officials visited the White House 20 times between March 2009 and April 2011. What was the purpose of these visits, what was discussed, and who was in attendance? Can you describe the role of George Kaiser, a major Obama fundraiser and Solyndra investor, in arranging these White House meetings?

Kaiser, a billionaire investor from Oklahoma who has openly boasted about his ability to use his Beltway connections to get his hands on federal funding, insists he did not participate in any discussions in regard to the Solyndra loan agreement. This is highly suspect. Kaiser’s foundation, the George Kaiser Family Foundation, through one of its investments arms, Argonaut Ventures, was a primary investor in the company, at one point owning a 39 percent stake. Kaiser made multiple visits to the White House in the months before the loan guarantee was formally approved, and records show he was involved in arranging a number of meetings between Solyndra executives and top administration officials.

Representative Bilbray (R., Calif.) told me he would like to know to what extent Solyndra officials made a “hard sell” to the White House regarding the “environmental benefits” of the thin-film solar-panel technology they were producing, which from an economic standpoint happens to be one of the riskiest investments of its kind. Bilbray fears the administration’s “blind faith in all things solar” caused to it make poor investment decisions.