Solyndra executives invoke rights, refuse to answer lawmakers

Republican and Democratic lawmakers came out swinging at Friday’s hourlong hearing in Washington about bankrupt California solar manufacturer Solyndra Inc.

Brian Harrison, Solyndra’s chief executive, and W.G. “Bill” Stover, its chief financial officer, invoked their 5th Amendment right to remain silent and refused to answer any questions. Each was flanked by a criminal attorney.

But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle pushed forward with aggressive questions about the company’s $535-million loan guarantee from the Energy Department, Solyndra’s deteriorating financial health and decisions to restructure the company’s debt this year.

Several members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are furious that Harrison visited Capitol Hill in July to assure them that Solyndra was on track to double its revenue. The Fremont, Calif., company suspended operations Aug. 31 and immediately laid off 1,100 workers. Solyndra filed for bankruptcy Sept. 6 and was raided by the FBI two days later.

“Two months ago Brian Harrison looked me in the eye and assured me the company was on track to be cash-flow positive,” Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), the committee’s chairman, said in his opening statement. “We have been asking questions about this deal since February. Does Solyndra have something to hide? What did they know about their finances, and when did they know it?”

Solyndra is in the midst of three complex processes: bankruptcy proceedings, a widening congressional probe into the loan and a criminal investigation by the Justice Department. The company’s implosion has become the centerpiece of a wider debate about the proper role of government in supporting clean technology.

Solyndra was the first company to be awarded an Energy Department loan under the stimulus package passed by Congress in 2009, and the stimulus funds for loan guarantees expire at the end of this month. But the remaining loans to be awarded have also come under scrutiny.

The House voted early to pass a continuing resolution that funds the government through Nov. 18, but the vote included paying for the Federal Emergency Management Agency by slashing the loan guarantee program by $100 million.

“You managed to do something that few Congresses have,” Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) said to the Solyndra executives Friday. “You killed a program.”

Hull writes for the San Jose Mercury News/McClatchy.