What is the administration trying to hide? Granted, this is exactly what Solyndra investigators have been trying to figure out since Day One, but the suspicions keeps piling up. First of all, the White House is refusing to turn over all the documents that Republicans have requested, including any Solyndra-related messages President Obama might have received on his BlackBerry. Not exactly living up his pledge that “transparency will be the hallmark of my administration,” but it’s hardly the first example.

A DOE memo justifying the subordination of taxpayers to private investors was not provided as part of the House subcommittee’s initial request for documents from DOE and the White House relating to the Solyndra loan. Instead, it was turned over by OMB following a subpoena from the committee, after which DOE checked again and “found” the document, as well as an earlier draft dated a month prior to the release of the official copy.

The draft copy, submitted on Jan. 19, 2011, is addressed to Secretary Chu as a “Memorandum for the Secretary.” However, the subsequent final version is not addressed to Chu, but is labeled instead a “Memorandum for the General Council.” Rep. Lee Terry (R., Neb.) said he was perplexed as to why this was the case. It seemed likely, Terry argued, that it was done deliberately, in an effort to absolve Chu of his involvement in a dubiously reasoned legal opinion.