White House worried about Solyndra default

White House officials discussed the political ramifications of a likely default by a troubled solar energy company that received more than $500 million in federal loans, recently released emails show.

Emails released Thursday night show that Obama administration confidentially worried about the effect of a default by Solyndra Inc on the president's re-election campaign.

"The optics of a Solyndra default will be bad," an representative from the Office of Management and Budget wrote in a Jan 31 email to a senior OMB official, "The timing will possible coincide with the 2012 campaign season heating up."

House probing $528M loan to failed solar company

House Republicans questioned Wednesday whether the White House hurried approval of a half-billion-dollar loan guarantee for a now-bankrupt solar panel manufacturer just the once cited as the kind of renewable energy company worthy of federal stimulus money.

Solyndra Inc. was a major presence in Washington and spends millions of dollars on lobby there, particularly about the Energy Department's loan assurance program and its executive raised thousands of dollars for Obama and Democrats in Congress.

The collapse of the Fremont, Calif.-based company once touted by President Barack Obama ultimately left taxpayers on the fastener for $528 million, raising questions if the loan was hurried to accommodate a company event in September 2009 that featured Vice President Joe Biden.