Solyndra Executives Plead The 5th Throughout Congressional Hearing

Executives from bankrupt solar energy company Solyndra elected to plead the 5th over a dozen times during a congressional hearing. Earlier, the company’s CEO, Brian Harrison, and its chief financial officer, Bill Stover, had notified the House Energy and Commerce Committee that they were planning to invoke their Fifth Amendment right to decline to testify in order to avoid self-incrimination. That didn’t keep lawmakers, however, from asking the executives about the company and how it managed to lose roughly $528 million in government loans — questioning that lead Democrats on the Committee to complain that House Republicans were “badgering” the witnesses.

FoxNews.com reports on reaction to the testimony (or lack thereof) from both sides of the aisle:

“I agreed to the format. That doesn’t mean I agreed to badgering the witnesses,” said ranking committee member Diana DeGette, D-Colo.

Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., told Fox News that the members asked questions that they would have liked to have answers. But he said the executives used their Fifth Amendment rights becaise they feared their testimony would incriminate themselves. “And indeed I think they would.”

Nonetheless, the investigation into Solyndra continues, with lawmakers declaring that they want the Obama administration to turn over all Solyndra-related communication between the Energy Department and White House related to Solyndra in addition communication between the Energy Department and the Treasury.

h/t FoxNews.com

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