Solyndra Executives To Plead The Fifth
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op executives at the failed solar firm Solyndra will refuse to answer questions during a House hearing Friday.
The executives — President Brian Harrison and Chief Financial Officer W.G. Stover Jr. — will exercise their Fifth Amendment rights during a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight panel Friday because of an ongoing investigation into the company by the Justice Department.
“[D]ue to the ongoing Department of Justice investigation and on the advice of their counsel, they will be unable to provide substantive answers to the Subcommittee’s questions and that present circumstances require both gentlemen to exercise their fifth amendment rights in the face of questioning that might occur,” Solyndra said in a statement.
“The company is not aware of any wrongdoing by Solyndra officers, directors or employees in conjunction with the DOE loan guarantee or otherwise,” the statement continued.
Solyndra has come under fire from lawmakers for declaring bankruptcy late last month and laying off 1,100 workers. The California-based company received a $535 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration in 2009.
Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have launched an investigation into the loan guarantee, alleging that the Obama administration missed a series of red flags that hinted at the company’s financial problems.
The FBI and the Energy Department’s inspector general raided Solyndra’s offices earlier this month, though it’s unclear whether the raid was connected to the loan guarantee.
The company’s attorneys alerted top lawmakers on the panel Tuesday that the executives would plead the Fifth, according to Reuters.


