The White House counsel refused to comply with a subpoena issued by a GOP-led House panel regarding the failed solar company Solyndra. The solar energy company, which the government issued more than half a billion dollars in federal loan guarantees in 2010, filed for bankruptcy. The White House counsel, Kathryn Ruemmler, attested the subpoena as written was unfair, “driven more by partisan politics than a legitimate effort to conduct a responsible investigation.”
Ruemmler expressed her willingness to work with the committee in accommodating a legitimate probe into the matter. Rep. Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican, said that the “White House could have avoided the need for subpoena authorizations if they had simply chosen to cooperate.” House Democrats called the subpoena unnecessary, following “substantial progress” in recent talks to disclose more information on Solyndra.
