A trove of over 150 emails released late Wednesday by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform reveals crony capitalism at the highest levels of government. The emails show that the loans given to failed companies like Solyndra, Abound Solar, A123, and other failed companies were pushed through for political reasons by Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chu, Vice President Biden, and even President Obama himself.

DOE Credit Advisor Jim McCrea wrote in an October 30, 2010 email to his boss at the DOE Loan Program Office (LPO), “I am growing increasingly worried about a fast track process imposed on us at the POTUS [President Of The United States] level based on this chaotic process that we are undergoing.”

And in a June 25, 2010 email, LPO Executive Director Jonathan Silver instructs McCrea, “You better let him know that WH wants to move Abound forward. Policy will have to wait unless they have a specific policy problem with abound.” Abound Solar got its funds, but is now bankrupt.

These emails and many more directly contradict President Obama’s recent claim on Friday October 26, 2012 to a local Denver news anchor, that the Green energy loan decisions are “decisions, by the way, that are made by the Department of Energy, they have nothing to do with politics” and Secretary Chu’s claim that there was “not a whiff” of politics when his staff hands out grants and loans.

The emails go on and on, revealing that Vice President Biden, Secretary Chu, and other high-ranking White House officials consistently pressured career DOE officials to approve loans to politically favored Green energy companies. Many of these now bankrupt companies had close personal ties to the Obama Administration. Research by Marita Noon and Christine Lakotos shows “that at least 90% of the projects had close ties to the White House and other high ranking Democrats.”

CFACT has consistently reported that solar, wind, and other so-called Green energy sources are inefficient and bound to fail so long as they are dependent on government rather than private investment. They currently can’t compete with traditional energy sources unless they are heavily subsidized by the government. It is no surprise that these companies failed, which makes the billions of taxpayer dollars wasted on these loans all the more shocking.

As CFACT recently reported, when battery maker A123 declared bankruptcy, “Green energy profiteers get rich and leave workers and taxpayers to share the pain.”

These emails show that the Obama White House was directly involved in expediting loans and grants for businesses it favored, that both the White House and Energy Department lied and that the Energy Department stonewalled to cover it up.

Download the full House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform report here. To read the unedited versions of the emails cited in the House report, download Appendix I here. To read all 150+ emails (320 pages), download Appendix II here.