CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH

Solyndra Misled Federal Officials

Cost taxpayers a half-billion dollars.

Executives at the solar-panel company Solyndra repeatedly told government officials their company was doing well and experiencing strong sales, while in fact customers were not happy to pay the exorbitant prices they charged. A report from the Energy Department’s inspector general, obtained by The Washington Post Wednesday, details a four-year investigation into the company and reveals that Solyndra officials convinced the federal government to give them a loan in order to facilitate production, which couldn’t be repaid by the failing company. The trouble with the company has led to more criticisms of President Obama’s efforts to improve the economy by adding jobs through financial assistance to clean-energy firms.