Solyndra executives to plead Fifth at hearing

Top executives at the failed solar firm Solyndra will refuse to answer questions during a House hearing Friday.

The executives — CEO Brian Harrison and CFO W.G. Stover Jr. — will exercise their Fifth Amendment rights during the hearing of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on Friday because of an ongoing investigation into the company by the Justice Department, the company said.

“[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 ... present circumstances require both gentlemen to exercise their Fifth Amendment rights in the face of questioning that might occur,” Solyndra said in a news release.

“The company is not aware of any wrongdoing by Solyndra officers, directors or employees in conjunction with the DOE loan guarantee or otherwise.”

Attorneys for the men Tuesday alerted top lawmakers on the subcommittee that the executives would plead the Fifth.

“Mr. Harrison has great respect for the work of this subcommittee and its oversight role,” said Walter F. Brown, an attorney with Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe, in a letter obtained by The Hill. “Mr. Harrison looks forward to the day when he can fully cooperate with the Subcommittee’s investigation and present the facts known to him.”

Brown said lawmakers should not infer anything from the executives’ decision to plead the Fifth “other than that it is the act of a prudent lawyer who is newly engaged to represent a witness in ongoing government investigations.”

Top Republicans on the subcommittee blasted the executives for exercising their Fifth Amendment rights.

“Who exactly are Solyndra’s executives trying to protect and what are they trying to hide?” full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Oversight and Investigations subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) said in a joint statement.

“We would encourage Mr. Harrison and Mr. Stover to reconsider this effort to dodge questions under oath and hide the truth from those American taxpayers who are now on the hook for their $500 million bust,” they said.

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.

— This post was originally published at 5:12 pm. and has since been updated.

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