As the Obama administration has become ensnared in a Solyndragate investigation, Congressman Darrell Issa has launched another investigation for LightSquared in what looks like an expanding cash for political contributions scandal.
Issa, Republicans investigate LightSquared donations
Citing concerns over alleged White House influence in dispersing loans, California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa announced that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee would begin an investigation into the wireless startup LightSquared.
On C-SPAN’s Washington Journal Tuesday morning, Issa, who chairs the Oversight Committee, named LightSquared along with the embattled solar energy company Solyndra as examples of “crony capitalism.”
“I want to see when the president and his cronies are picking winners and losers,” he explained, “that it wasn’t because there were large contributions given to them.”
The investigation comes after weeks of allegations that LightSquared used political contributions to the Democratic Party to influence the Obama administration, which in turn pressured federal agencies to approve a proposal to build a terrestrial wireless network.
The first Solyndra hearing is this Friday (September 23) and the following excerpt is from Reuters:
Solyndra LLC’s chief executive and chief financial officer will invoke their Fifth Amendment rights and decline to answer any questions put to them at a Congressional hearing on Friday.
The administration’s response is typical Chicago thug politics from Obama’s chief enforcer, Eric Holder. U.S. prosecutors are “seeking information” to bring charges against FoxNews.
NBC has announced the funding of a new pilot for a mid-season replacement: “Desperate Politicians”. Several NBC executives have expressed concerns that this series is not ready for prime time.
David DeGerolamo
Justice Seeks Info From News Corp.
U.S. prosecutors have sent News Corp. a letter seeking information about possible payments made by its U.K. tabloid newspapers to British policemen, according to people familiar with the matter.
The letter of request, sent last week, is part of a Justice Department investigation, these people said, into whether the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a U.S. law that prohibits companies from bribing foreign officials.
The fact the Justice Department chose to issue a “letter of request” rather than a criminal subpoena suggests the department has opted for a less confrontational approach to the matter, legal experts say.
Several people familiar with the case described the letter as part of ongoing communications between the company and the government about producing documents
related to possible violations of U.S. law.
