Republicans seek Obama's Solyndra e-mails

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Republicans on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee asked the White House Wednesday to turn over e-mails on the Solyndra solar energy company.

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., the committee chairman, and Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., who heads the oversight and investigations subcommittee, made the request in a letter to White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, The Hill reported. They said President Obama and his staff should hand over e-mails and other internal documents on the $535 million loan to the California solar energy company, which shut down this summer.

"The fact that other agencies are in the process of attempting to comply with our request for documents does not excuse the White House from producing its own responsive documents," the letter said.

"Our request to the White House is not duplicative of our requests to other Executive Branch agencies."

The committee is investigating whether the Obama administration pushed through the loan.