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| Nuclear waste clean-up delayed and billions over budget CBS News June 19, 2013 |
Crime Pays Well
Well if you haven’t guessed it, this post will answer that question –– a green energy, crony-corruption tale that began towards the end of the 90’s. “Between 1999 and 2008, CH2M Hill had a Department of Energy (DOE) contract to manage and clean 177 large underground storage tanks containing mixed radioactive and hazardous waste at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Nuclear Site in southeastern Washington (the Tank Farms Contract),” explained the Department of Justice (DOJ) in a March 7, 2013 press release, of which the DOJ confirmed that CH2M Hill "committed federal criminal violations, defrauding the public by engaging in years of widespread time card fraud."
The clean up at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, which is considered the most contaminated radioactive site in North America, costs U.S. taxpayers $2 billion every year [yet overall is projected to cost over $13.4 billion], reported CBS News this month, noting that it is plagued with problems, "delays and billions over budget." This was an issue that just a month into his new role as Energy Secretary, Ernest Moniz made a special appearance in an effort to thwart off the controversy, and just days following his visit, Hanford may have sprung another leak.
Not covered by the media was Thursday's Senate hearing, where we find out that the DOE has a long history of poor oversight of its environmental remediation contracts (even safety concerns), whereas the Committee came to the conclusion that the "nuclear waste cleanup contracts are rife with examples of wasted taxpayer dollars," which included the erroneous practice of contractors receiving performance bonuses regardless of work product.
Only a few of the contractors appeared at the hearing by the Senate Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight, two of which are relevant to this particular story; Michael McKelvy President and Division Chief Executive at CH2M HILL, and Michael Graham Principal Vice President Bechtel National, Inc –– the latter is the contractor in charge of the Hanford project, and the former is the focus of today's Green Corruption File.
Towards the end of the hearing, Claire McCaskill (D-MO), the "Senate's leading watchdog for accountability in government," and Chairman of the Committee –– who ironically (maybe she's unaware), in 2010, snagged a $10,000 donation from CH2M Hill, a firm that is a big Democrat donor –– briefly touched upon the time card fraud that occurred at Hanford, and its settlement with the DOJ that involved CH2M Hill employees, management knowledge, of which some supervisors had actively concealed.
The DOJ settlement by the way, was an non-prosecution agreement, of which "in order to resolve CHG’s civil and criminal liability, CH2M Hill [had] agreed to pay a total of $18.5 million" as well as other conditions.
Congresswoman McCaskill asked one question, whereas she basically wanted to know if anyone who participated in, or were aware of, the fraud were still working at Hanford. McKelvy answered, "to my knowledge the employees who were directly affected with that issue have been terminated, are no longer with CH2M Hill, under disciplinary action," of which McKelvy affirmed to McCaskill that it included employees and supervisors.
Only a few of the contractors appeared at the hearing by the Senate Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight, two of which are relevant to this particular story; Michael McKelvy President and Division Chief Executive at CH2M HILL, and Michael Graham Principal Vice President Bechtel National, Inc –– the latter is the contractor in charge of the Hanford project, and the former is the focus of today's Green Corruption File.
Towards the end of the hearing, Claire McCaskill (D-MO), the "Senate's leading watchdog for accountability in government," and Chairman of the Committee –– who ironically (maybe she's unaware), in 2010, snagged a $10,000 donation from CH2M Hill, a firm that is a big Democrat donor –– briefly touched upon the time card fraud that occurred at Hanford, and its settlement with the DOJ that involved CH2M Hill employees, management knowledge, of which some supervisors had actively concealed.
The DOJ settlement by the way, was an non-prosecution agreement, of which "in order to resolve CHG’s civil and criminal liability, CH2M Hill [had] agreed to pay a total of $18.5 million" as well as other conditions.
Congresswoman McCaskill asked one question, whereas she basically wanted to know if anyone who participated in, or were aware of, the fraud were still working at Hanford. McKelvy answered, "to my knowledge the employees who were directly affected with that issue have been terminated, are no longer with CH2M Hill, under disciplinary action," of which McKelvy affirmed to McCaskill that it included employees and supervisors.
First, it should be noted that this admitted criminal activity went down like this: "Members of CHG’s upper management facilitated and encouraged that fraud in order to preserve corporate bonuses that required the company meet certain performance measures, according to the court agreement," reported the Washington Free Beacon in March.
Now, CH2M Hill got off the hook with a financial fine, but Mr. McKelvy is partially accurate,
because from what I read, workers involved in this scam, are sill employed at the Hanford site –– maybe just not under the CH2M firm. According to the News Tribune, weeks after the release of the DOJ March 7 presser, they reported that there was a federal grand jury that had "indicted ten current or former upper CH2M Hill managers and supervisors at Hanford, accusing them of enabling time card fraud at the nuclear reservation." However, with the exception of two main culprits, “most, if not all, of the other workers continue to work at the Hanford tank farms under current contractor Washington River Protection Solutions.”
But it’s even worse, because taxpayers funded this crime spree for over a decade at the tune of billions of dollars, and despite a long rap sheet, CH2M continued to be subsidized with billions more.
The time card fraud took place between 1999 and 2008 when CH2M was servicing a DOE contract worth $2.2 billion, and at the beginning of 2013, we discover that CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) "provided inaccurate cost data to support a multi-billion-dollar federal nuclear waste cleanup contract," reported the Washington Free Beacon. This revelation came from the December 2012 audit released by the Energy Department’s Inspector General (IG) office. The IG Gregory H. Friedman also elaborated on that particular report during his July 27th testimony, "We reported in December 2012 that according to the contractor projections, the cost of the Plateau Remediation contract at Hanford, originally awarded in 2008 for $5.6 billion, had grown by $1.1 billion."
While the Energy Department's mismanagement of the Hanford nuclear clean up is obvious and has been documented by the GAO numerous times (even as recent as May of this year) and closely watched by the IG since 2003, it's unclear why it took the Justice Department so long to catch these crooks, and why did they get a special non-prosecutorial deal?
These critical question loom in midst of this nuclear crime story, because CH2M had accumulated quite the track record, which was found in a thorough and jaw-dropping investigation by Accuracy in Media (AIM) in November 2011. Issues that were documented as far back as 2002 and ranged from cost overruns, safety violations, delays, and mismanagement of public funds. They were even found guilty and fined for many of these violations, including “widespread” and “routine” time card fraud at the CH2M HILL Hanford Group [back in November 2011], as well as "false claims and paid kickbacks at the Hanford nuclear site [in September 2011]."
But the answers are found in another massive radioactive disaster, which is the driving force inside our government system: cronyism, corruption and corporate welfare –– those with access and influence get special favors.
Despite their history of legal and workplace safety violations, in 2009 an additional $1.3 billion was awarded to a different CH2M subsidiary to go toward the Hanford cleanup, which was steered out of President Obama’s taxpayer-funded trillion-dollar spending spree –– with over $90 billion earmarked for clean energy.
Needless to say, prior to CH2M Hill snagging these funds from the stimulus package, this politically connected firm had engineered their piece of the pie. As far back as December 2008, "when it became clear that Obama would introduce a huge spending bill to create jobs, Energy Department staff members began meeting with the contractors, including representatives from Bechtel National [the contractor in charge of the Hanford nuclear waste clean-up project, another huge corporation now in the "incompetent hot seat"], CH2M Hill and other large firms," reported the Washington Post in May 2009 –– meaning that here we discover direct corporate influence, (those with an invested interest) into the stimulus package, ultimately capitalizing on this massive piece of legislation, which further demonstrates the depths of this Green Corruption scandal.
These critical question loom in midst of this nuclear crime story, because CH2M had accumulated quite the track record, which was found in a thorough and jaw-dropping investigation by Accuracy in Media (AIM) in November 2011. Issues that were documented as far back as 2002 and ranged from cost overruns, safety violations, delays, and mismanagement of public funds. They were even found guilty and fined for many of these violations, including “widespread” and “routine” time card fraud at the CH2M HILL Hanford Group [back in November 2011], as well as "false claims and paid kickbacks at the Hanford nuclear site [in September 2011]."
But the answers are found in another massive radioactive disaster, which is the driving force inside our government system: cronyism, corruption and corporate welfare –– those with access and influence get special favors.
The $6 Billion Democrat Earmark
Despite their history of legal and workplace safety violations, in 2009 an additional $1.3 billion was awarded to a different CH2M subsidiary to go toward the Hanford cleanup, which was steered out of President Obama’s taxpayer-funded trillion-dollar spending spree –– with over $90 billion earmarked for clean energy.
Needless to say, prior to CH2M Hill snagging these funds from the stimulus package, this politically connected firm had engineered their piece of the pie. As far back as December 2008, "when it became clear that Obama would introduce a huge spending bill to create jobs, Energy Department staff members began meeting with the contractors, including representatives from Bechtel National [the contractor in charge of the Hanford nuclear waste clean-up project, another huge corporation now in the "incompetent hot seat"], CH2M Hill and other large firms," reported the Washington Post in May 2009 –– meaning that here we discover direct corporate influence, (those with an invested interest) into the stimulus package, ultimately capitalizing on this massive piece of legislation, which further demonstrates the depths of this Green Corruption scandal.
Moreover, this case is another example that goes in stark contrast to candidate Obama's proclamation that he “… will finally end the abuse of no-bid contracts once and for all,” and worse is that despite the "specific language in the Recovery Act that demands that stimulus contracts be competitively bid “to the maximum extent possible,” the CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company was, [in April 2009], awarded over $1 billion [from the stimulus] in non-competitive, non-fixed price contract."
As noted in the AIM investigation, "The DOE website legitimizes this because the company was already under contract via a competitive process in 2008," of which the Post reiterated in 2009, “The final version of the legislation included $6 billion for nuclear cleanup, and the department said it would negotiate with current contractors, rather than conduct a lengthy competitive bidding process, to meet spending deadlines.”
According to the Washington Free Beacon and the Post, "Sen. Patty Murray (D., Wash.), who was also present at those [stimulus] meetings, lobbied for greater funding for the Hanford remediation project. She won $6.4 billion in funding for remediation in the final stimulus bill, nearly 13 times the funding level included in the House’s legislative package."
It turns out that Murray’s efforts were rewarded dramatically, and "CH2M Hill’s political action committee quadrupled its contributions to Murray’s campaign in the following election cycle. The $12,500 in contributions to the senator were the most the PAC has given to a congressional candidate during a single cycle." And in 2010, CH2M PAC donated $11,500 to "People For Patty Murray U S Senate Campaign."
According to the Washington Free Beacon and the Post, "Sen. Patty Murray (D., Wash.), who was also present at those [stimulus] meetings, lobbied for greater funding for the Hanford remediation project. She won $6.4 billion in funding for remediation in the final stimulus bill, nearly 13 times the funding level included in the House’s legislative package."
It turns out that Murray’s efforts were rewarded dramatically, and "CH2M Hill’s political action committee quadrupled its contributions to Murray’s campaign in the following election cycle. The $12,500 in contributions to the senator were the most the PAC has given to a congressional candidate during a single cycle." And in 2010, CH2M PAC donated $11,500 to "People For Patty Murray U S Senate Campaign."
Also, Bechtel National (Bethal Group) –– with ties to Washington DC –– has given to both political parties quite evenly over the years, and had donated $1000 to Murray in 2008. However, they decided to increase their contribution quite significantly in 2010, and gave the senator $9,000.
While there are additional Democrat ties found in this nuclear crime story, as well as the fact that both the Bechtel and CH2M contributed to Obama in 2008 and 2012, we discover through OpenSecrets.org that CH2M contributions leaned slightly in favor of the Democrats in 2008 (58% to Democrats, 42% to Republicans). Yet during the 2010 election cycle the ratio increased significantly (61% to Democrats, 37% to Republicans) –– with some on the top of the list who happen to be notable green energy pushers emerging as winners; such as the aforementioned Murray ($12,500) and McCaskill ($10,000) as well as Barbara Boxer ($11,900), Dianne Feinstein ($6,000) and Harry Reid ($6,500) –– the latter senator, we'll revisit in a bit.
"Touching Lives"
Meanwhile we find out that in January 2010 CH2M had become part of the Obama administration's propaganda machine, touting stimulus green jobs –– created and saved –– like a soap opera gone bad. "Touching lives" was a huge hit amongst liberals and those at MSNBC who bought into, or were part of the hype, hook line and sinker.
A year later, CH2M Hill announced it would lay off more than 1,300 workers when funding for the cleanup dried up (1600 total at the Hanford site) and they, and the taxpayer- funded environmental mess, has been consistently hemorrhaging jobs since.
A year later, CH2M Hill announced it would lay off more than 1,300 workers when funding for the cleanup dried up (1600 total at the Hanford site) and they, and the taxpayer- funded environmental mess, has been consistently hemorrhaging jobs since.
While we learned in April 2011 from the Heritage Foundation that the Environmental Protection Agency doesn't care about jobs, and their failure to account for jobs is contrary to President Obama’s own Executive Order, it wasn't until June 6, 2012, at a House Oversight hearing where we discovered more on how the Obama administration tracks green jobs. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) questioned Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Director John Galvin on his agency’s green jobs numbers. Through Galvin’s reluctant responses, we learned that the labor department counted oil lobbyists, bus drivers, garbage men, employees at a bicycle shop, antique dealer, etc., as green jobs, which is comical if it wasn't so embarrassing and deceptive.
Additionally, at the June 19, 2012 Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing on “The Federal Green Jobs Agenda,” they highlighted the “gimmick” accounting method used by the BLS. Testimony revealed that a multi-billion dollar stimulus program, the section 1603 grants for renewable energy, does not even include job creation among its primary objectives — which obviously contradicts the 2009 trillion-dollar stimulus package, which was sold to the American people as a means to revive an economy on life support and create jobs.
We at have documented the green jobs scam a numerous times (Obama’s Green Energy Jobs Promise: 355 Jobs and Counting in October 2012, and through a May 9, 2013 post, but more revealing is that this past February, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) released a report called, "11 stunning revelations from Larry Summers’ secret economics memo to Barack Obama."
We at have documented the green jobs scam a numerous times (Obama’s Green Energy Jobs Promise: 355 Jobs and Counting in October 2012, and through a May 9, 2013 post, but more revealing is that this past February, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) released a report called, "11 stunning revelations from Larry Summers’ secret economics memo to Barack Obama."
What the 57-page, “Sensitive & Confidential” memo, which originally was published in The New Yorker, sheds light on is the real agenda behind the trillion-dollar stimulus package. In December 2008, Obama's economic czar Larry Summers (who served as Secretary of the Treasury for President Bill Clinton and became the director of Obama's National Economic Council from 2009 to 2011) wrote, "The short-run economic imperative was to identify as many campaign promises or high priority items that would spend out quickly and be inherently temporary. … The stimulus package is a key tool for advancing clean energy goals and fulfilling a number of campaign commitments."
The Solyndra Tie
Moreover, CH2M has ties to Solyndra, the half-billion dollar Energy Department disaster –– FBI raids, Obama bundlers, DOE Advisors, "Fifth Amendment," and all. "Lying within that massive federal loan was a number of sub-awards to other vendors, 40 payments of which were greater than $25,000 each. The largest sub-award went to another administration favorite, CH2M Hill, to the tune of $9.6 million for their construction engineering services," which was used to design Solyndra’s solar manufacturing plant in Fremont, California, wrote Brietbart.com in September 2011 –– a plant that is shut down, but you can view some of their solar tubes, which are now being used as art at the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley.
And June of this year, we discover from Freedom Works that CH2Hill got more special favors...
In 2002, the New York Times ran a very critical piece on what they, and several Democrats, deemed a serious conflict of interest surrounding CH2M Hill. The DOE official under severe scrutiny was an appointee by President Bush. Around 2001, Robert G. Card was named under secretary of energy by Bush, who not only was the president and CEO at Kaiser-Hill Company, but also served as a director and senior vice president at CH2M HILL –– both of which were enjoying multi billion-dollar government contracts that his office at the DOE controlled at that time.
The Times elaborated, "Most accusations against Mr. Card involve contracts by his former companies to clean up two of the country's biggest environmental hazards: the Rocky Flats Site near Denver and the Hanford Site in Washington State, both of which processed plutonium for nuclear weapons before closing." CH2M Hill at that time had a $2.2 billion contract to manage radioactive waste storage tanks at Hanford and decommission them as the waste is processed, meanwhile Kaiser-Hill, which is half-owned by CH2M Hill had a $4 billion contract to clean up Rocky Flats.
Mr. Card re-joined CH2M HILL in September 2004, following his tenure as Deputy Under Secretary of the DOE, from 2001 to 2004, and as luck would have it, "CH2M Hill employed Robert Card, the president of its energy, water, and facilities division when it received the 2008 grant and subsequent stimulus award." Card has since departed his role at CH2M, and has been the Chief Executive Officer and President of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. since October 2012.
Another interesting tidbit of data that came of the Times 2002 piece is this: "federal ethics rules require presidential appointees to go even further than selling stock in their previous employers, as Mr. Card did. As a condition of his appointment, Mr. Card agreed to recuse himself from department matters in which he was involved" –– which apparently, Department officials stated that his recusal and his divestiture of company stock means that there is neither a conflict nor an appearance of one.
Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid Connected to $3 Billion DOE Green Energy Loans
Now, CH2M may be just a fluke, but what we can confirm is that the senator from Nevada is heavily involved in this green-energy scheme, and he's a "repeat offender" at the Judicial Watch "List of Washington’s Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians." While Judicial Watch 2012 gives examples on how the majority leader has used earmarks and influence to enrich himself and his family, "Sen. Harry Reid’s latest influence-peddling scandal involves ENN Energy Group, a Chinese “green energy” client of the Nevada law firm of which Reid’s son, Rory, is a principal."
But it's much more sinister than one Chinese firm. When looking at the entire Green Corruption scandal, it's important to note that Senator Reid “led passage of the $814 billion stimulus bill (some reports say higher) and worked to include the loan guarantee program to help finance clean-energy projects” — projects to which, as we've shown, he is connected.
Moreover, CH2M has ties to Solyndra, the half-billion dollar Energy Department disaster –– FBI raids, Obama bundlers, DOE Advisors, "Fifth Amendment," and all. "Lying within that massive federal loan was a number of sub-awards to other vendors, 40 payments of which were greater than $25,000 each. The largest sub-award went to another administration favorite, CH2M Hill, to the tune of $9.6 million for their construction engineering services," which was used to design Solyndra’s solar manufacturing plant in Fremont, California, wrote Brietbart.com in September 2011 –– a plant that is shut down, but you can view some of their solar tubes, which are now being used as art at the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley.
And June of this year, we discover from Freedom Works that CH2Hill got more special favors...
While the administration has been taking a 'sky is falling' approach regarding the effects of the sequestration, one Department of Energy (DOE) contractor has claimed that the financial cuts had little effect on their operations. In fact, Daniel Coyne, President of the B&W West Valley division for CH2M Hill, claimed that his company actually received an additional $10 million in funding because of it.
CH2M Hill B&W has been chosen for nuclear clean up services at the West Valley Demonstration Project. In 2011, the DOE announced they had agreed to a contract with the firm for seven years, consisting of $60 million in annual funding."
Reid's Reversal of Fortune
In 2002, the New York Times ran a very critical piece on what they, and several Democrats, deemed a serious conflict of interest surrounding CH2M Hill. The DOE official under severe scrutiny was an appointee by President Bush. Around 2001, Robert G. Card was named under secretary of energy by Bush, who not only was the president and CEO at Kaiser-Hill Company, but also served as a director and senior vice president at CH2M HILL –– both of which were enjoying multi billion-dollar government contracts that his office at the DOE controlled at that time.
The Times elaborated, "Most accusations against Mr. Card involve contracts by his former companies to clean up two of the country's biggest environmental hazards: the Rocky Flats Site near Denver and the Hanford Site in Washington State, both of which processed plutonium for nuclear weapons before closing." CH2M Hill at that time had a $2.2 billion contract to manage radioactive waste storage tanks at Hanford and decommission them as the waste is processed, meanwhile Kaiser-Hill, which is half-owned by CH2M Hill had a $4 billion contract to clean up Rocky Flats.
Mr. Card re-joined CH2M HILL in September 2004, following his tenure as Deputy Under Secretary of the DOE, from 2001 to 2004, and as luck would have it, "CH2M Hill employed Robert Card, the president of its energy, water, and facilities division when it received the 2008 grant and subsequent stimulus award." Card has since departed his role at CH2M, and has been the Chief Executive Officer and President of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. since October 2012.
Now, considering I've discovered that at least a dozen DOE officials have raked in big bucks from the stimulus (directly and indirectly), it's another issue I'll have to dig further into when I unleash "The DOE Dirty Dozen" in the near future. Did they divest and recuse themselves prior to their work at the Energy Department? Stay tuned...
But one of the harshest critics of Mr. Card's role at the DOE was Senator Harry Reid, and even "wrote to the Office of Government Ethics, raising questions about Mr. Card's actions, saying he believed they might violate Bush administration guidelines and federal statutes governing conflicts of interest."
Despite the Senator's scrutiny over CH2M, he didn't mind taking their money. While AIM's report noted that CH2M had donated to "Friends for Harry Reid," I couldn't substantiate that claim. However, the Senator's political contributions (as found at OpenSecrets.org) from CH2M Hill go as far back as 1998 ($5,000). Then it picked up again in 2002 ($1000) and continued in 2004 ($4,000), 2008 ($6,000) and in 2010 ($6,500), totaling $22,000.
But one of the harshest critics of Mr. Card's role at the DOE was Senator Harry Reid, and even "wrote to the Office of Government Ethics, raising questions about Mr. Card's actions, saying he believed they might violate Bush administration guidelines and federal statutes governing conflicts of interest."
Despite the Senator's scrutiny over CH2M, he didn't mind taking their money. While AIM's report noted that CH2M had donated to "Friends for Harry Reid," I couldn't substantiate that claim. However, the Senator's political contributions (as found at OpenSecrets.org) from CH2M Hill go as far back as 1998 ($5,000). Then it picked up again in 2002 ($1000) and continued in 2004 ($4,000), 2008 ($6,000) and in 2010 ($6,500), totaling $22,000.
Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid Connected to $3 Billion DOE Green Energy Loans
Now, CH2M may be just a fluke, but what we can confirm is that the senator from Nevada is heavily involved in this green-energy scheme, and he's a "repeat offender" at the Judicial Watch "List of Washington’s Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians." While Judicial Watch 2012 gives examples on how the majority leader has used earmarks and influence to enrich himself and his family, "Sen. Harry Reid’s latest influence-peddling scandal involves ENN Energy Group, a Chinese “green energy” client of the Nevada law firm of which Reid’s son, Rory, is a principal."
But it's much more sinister than one Chinese firm. When looking at the entire Green Corruption scandal, it's important to note that Senator Reid “led passage of the $814 billion stimulus bill (some reports say higher) and worked to include the loan guarantee program to help finance clean-energy projects” — projects to which, as we've shown, he is connected.
Second, it's important to point out that there are three parts to the Energy Department's Loan Guarantee Program: Section 1703, Section 1705, and Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) has guaranteed $34.5 billion of taxpayer money that thus far has funded 33 projects.
While the 1703 and ATVM were established under President Bush, the 1705 was created under the 2009 stimulus package, and in excess of $16 billion was funneled to 26 projects, of which 22 of the loans were rated “Junk grade” due to their poor credit quality. The remaining ended up on lowest end of the "investment" grade of categories, giving the DOE’s 1705 loan portfolio an overall average of BB-, which explains the term DOE's "junk bond" portfolio frequented throughout my work.
We've already proven that the DOE's $16 billion “junk bond” portfolio as well as the other DOE loans reeks of cronyism and corruption, due to the fact that virtually all of them have meaningful political connections to the president and other high-ranking Democrats, and in many cases, to both. Political buddies which primarily comprise of Obama's campaign backers, bundlers, top donors as well as liberal allies. Adding to the mix are those with access and influence that have financially benefited from the stimulus package and its $90 billion of taxpayer funds, which includes members of the president's former Job Council; those that helped craft the 2009 Recovery Act; and at least a dozen inside the Energy Department.
Worse, last Halloween when the House Oversight released a set of incriminating internal emails and documents that prove that Reid's connection to at least five of the DOE loans worth $3 BILLION is not coincidental. Inside the 350+ page Appendix II it reveals that many of the DOE loans were rushed and approved for political purposes –– visits, speeches, announcements, photo ops, and talking points for the president as well as for the purpose of helping those connected to the companies seeking the loans –– CEO's, investors, and Democrat politicians, and so on. In fact these emails exposed the Energy Department's Den of Deception, which involve a series of questionable practices, including coercion, cronyism and, cover-ups.
These emails also showed how the Obama administration used DOE loan money to help Harry Reid’s 2010 campaign. Here's what the Washington Examiner released back then, which involves James C. McCrea, Senior Credit Advisor of the Loan Programs and the former DOE Loan Advisor Jonathan Silver.
In December 2009, McCrea forwarded one of his colleagues an article about how Reid would struggle in the 2010 campaign along with a comment on how it might affect the DOE loan program. “Reid may be desperate,” McCrea wrote. “WH may want to help. Short term considerations may be more important than longer term considerations and what’s a billion anyhow?” That’s a troubling closing question given that the DOE lost over half-a-billion dollars on one company when Solyndra went bankrupt.
In that same message, McCrea also speculated that, in light of Reid’s campaign struggles, “there may be an opportunity to move several transactions simultaneously, allowing LGPO to finish with a trifecta!”
A May 2010 email shows that Reid requested a meeting with Jonathan Silver — the Obama bundler who resigned his post at DOE after the Solyndra bankruptcy — to discuss green energy projects in Nevada.
Silver interpreted Reid’s request in light of the campaign. “Reid is constantly hit at home for not bringing in the federal dollars,” he wrote. Silver’s task, according to the DOE memo prepared for his meeting, was to assure Reid that “we anticipate a good number of projects to be approved in the coming months.”
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee notes that “throughout 2010 LPO emails indicate that projects in Nevada were prioritized because they were ‘high profile,’ ‘tied to larger events,’ or because they had Senator Reid’s support.”Here's the list and how we covered them so far.
#1) SolarReserve Inc, LLC (Crescent Dunes) –– Rating BB by Fitch; Sept 2011 for $737 million
- June 30, 2012: Obama’s Green-Energy, Crony-Corruption Story – Special Seven, Part 1 Expanded Version
- February 23, 2013: Citi’s Massive ‘Green” Money Machine
#2) BrightSource Energy, Inc total $1.6 billion
Ivanpah I and Ivanpah III –– Rating BB+ by Fitch and Ivanpah II –– Rating BB by Fitch, both in Apr 2011
Ivanpah I and Ivanpah III –– Rating BB+ by Fitch and Ivanpah II –– Rating BB by Fitch, both in Apr 2011
- July 6, 2012: Shining the Light on BrightSource Energy's $1.6 Billion Shady DOE Deal: Special Seven, Part Two
- February 7, 2013: Obama’s Last Commerce Secretary –– as part of Obama's Jobs Council Closed: Mega-Rich Member Penny Pritzker "Rumored" for Commerce Job, “Related” to Two Large Green Corruption Stories
- November 4, 2012: Busting Open Energy's Den of Deception
- February 23, 2013: Citi’s Massive ‘Green” Money Machine
- Also part of my March 22, 2013 post, Left-wing Billionaire George Soros: Obama’s "Agent of Green"
#4. Ormat Nevada, Inc –– Rating BB by S&P; Sept 2011 for $280 million
- July 15, 2012: Senator Harry Reid’s Part in Green-Energy Crony-Corruption, Part Three of The Special Seven
#5. LS Power (Transmission Line project) known as SWIP –– Rating BB+ by Fitch; Feb 2011 for $343 million (Silver specifically asked for information about the SWIP project as he prepared to meet with Reid.)
Podesta Power
Tony Podesta, may be "The Lobbyist," but don't underestimate his brother, whose combined footprint inside Washington DC creates Podesta Power like no other. John Podesta is the former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton. In 2003 Podesta founded the left-wing think tank that has a major foothold inside the Obama administration, and in 2011, stepped down from his CEO role, but is currently Chair of the Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
Besides Soros funding of CAP, there's an additional tie, which is related to three large DOE loans worth over $3 billion (some say $3.73 billion) of taxpayer money. In May, a revelation came out of The Nation, "The Secret Donors Behind the Center for American Progress and Other Think Tanks," is where we discover that "CAP takes money from corporate donors without disclosing it" and "sometimes acts as an undisclosed lobbyist for its donors."
While The Nation lists General Motors, PG&E, and General Electric, with the latter being two big winners from the green stimulus slush fund, one case in particular is relevant to the cronyism forces fueling the president's Energy Department.
First Solar, which was an early investment of Goldman Sachs, who by the way, was the #2 top Obama donor that gave more than $1 million dollars to his 2008 campaign. We also know that the Obama administration "is infested" with Goldman Sachs (and Citigroup) executives. Yet despite the rhetoric, we've chronicled Obama’s Wall Street Buddies in many previous posts. Moreover, I've written extensively about the president's connection to Goldman Sachs (a huge winner in this green-energy scam), which also includes the two Goldman executives who sat on Obama's 2008 Finance Committee, Bruce Heyman and David Heller, while Jennifer Scully and Bruce Heyman were 2008 bundlers –– Heyman was also a 2012 Obama bundler.
- February 23, 2013: Citi’s Massive ‘Green” Money Machine
Stay tuned, because we will be revisiting Nevada real soon...
"The Lobbyist" – Newsweek
CH2M Hill not only contributed to the right politicians, but their lobbying pull served valuable. The Beacon reported that CH2M "beefed up its lobbying presence in 2009, employing the services of ten different lobbyists at the Podesta Group [for $220,000], a firm with extensive ties to the Obama administration."
Tony Podesta –– "dubbed one of DC’s “50 heavy lifters” by the Financial Times; “one of Washington’s biggest players” by the New York Times;" and “Washington super lobbyist” by Bloomberg Businessweek –– is founder and Chairman at the Podesta Group, which he started with his brother John in 1987. John Podesta ran Barack Obama’s presidential transition team and is currently Chair a the Center for American Progress (CAP) — which is “reportedly highly influential in helping to craft White House Policy.” Both Tony Podesta and his wife Heather ––deemed a Washington power couple –– are frequent White House visitors that share high ranks in "lobbying power," and Democrat bundling as well.
It turns out that "the Podesta Group reported lobbying Congress on the stimulus on CH2M Hill’s behalf during all four quarters of 2009." However, the Podesta Group, in 2009, lobbied on behalf of other winners of "green" stimulus funds like Duke Energy and SolarReserve.
Tony Podesta –– "dubbed one of DC’s “50 heavy lifters” by the Financial Times; “one of Washington’s biggest players” by the New York Times;" and “Washington super lobbyist” by Bloomberg Businessweek –– is founder and Chairman at the Podesta Group, which he started with his brother John in 1987. John Podesta ran Barack Obama’s presidential transition team and is currently Chair a the Center for American Progress (CAP) — which is “reportedly highly influential in helping to craft White House Policy.” Both Tony Podesta and his wife Heather ––deemed a Washington power couple –– are frequent White House visitors that share high ranks in "lobbying power," and Democrat bundling as well.
It turns out that "the Podesta Group reported lobbying Congress on the stimulus on CH2M Hill’s behalf during all four quarters of 2009." However, the Podesta Group, in 2009, lobbied on behalf of other winners of "green" stimulus funds like Duke Energy and SolarReserve.
Last June when we chronicled our Special Seven Series –– those projects that not only received large DOE loans, but special treatment by the Department of Interior –– we noted the Podesta Group's lobbying effort on the SolarReserve $737 million DOE loan. Apparently the Podesta Group came aboard sometime in 2009, while the loan deal closed in September 2011, and OpenSecrets.org shows that in 2009 and 2010 SolarReserve paid $180,000 in lobbying fees to the Podesta Group, and in 2011 and 2012 it went up to $200,000. So far it's $50,000 in 2013.
Podesta Power
CAP, on my green corruption radar since 2010, and periodically mentioned in my work, is a strong proponent of alternative energy and is closely aligned with the Obama White House. Edwin Chen of Bloomberg in 2008 described CAP as "an intellectual wellspring for Democratic policy proposals," of which, at that time, a squadron of CAP experts worked with president Obama's transition team.
In fact CAP boasts of J. Podesta's part: "Podesta served as co-chair of President Barack Obama’s transition, where he coordinated the priorities of the incoming administration’s agenda, oversaw the development of its policies, and spearheaded its appointments of major cabinet secretaries and political appointees."
In fact CAP boasts of J. Podesta's part: "Podesta served as co-chair of President Barack Obama’s transition, where he coordinated the priorities of the incoming administration’s agenda, oversaw the development of its policies, and spearheaded its appointments of major cabinet secretaries and political appointees."
CAP even helped write President Obama’s signature healthcare legislation, and "CAP argued that individual mandates within ObamaCare “will be instrumental in achieving near-universal coverage.”
Then this past January, President Obama named former CAP Senior Fellow Denis McDonough (a deputy national security advisor and a longtime aide to the president) as chief of staff to the White House, to replace outgoing Jack Lew, who took over Timothy Geithner's post as Treasury Secretary. (NOTE: Marita Noon and I, this past February, completed a collaboration of Mr. Lew and the "too-big-to fail" bank: "Citigroup’s Massive 'Green' Money Machine" and "Wall Street Walks on the White House.")
Daniel Greenfield explained it best, “Denis McDonough’s appointment as Chief of Staff is probably the biggest win for the Soros Lobby since the Obama victory…the George Soros funded Center for American Progress, which is the criminal brain behind the Frankenbody of Obama Inc.”
Besides Soros funding of CAP, there's an additional tie, which is related to three large DOE loans worth over $3 billion (some say $3.73 billion) of taxpayer money. In May, a revelation came out of The Nation, "The Secret Donors Behind the Center for American Progress and Other Think Tanks," is where we discover that "CAP takes money from corporate donors without disclosing it" and "sometimes acts as an undisclosed lobbyist for its donors."
While The Nation lists General Motors, PG&E, and General Electric, with the latter being two big winners from the green stimulus slush fund, one case in particular is relevant to the cronyism forces fueling the president's Energy Department.
First Solar, which was an early investment of Goldman Sachs, who by the way, was the #2 top Obama donor that gave more than $1 million dollars to his 2008 campaign. We also know that the Obama administration "is infested" with Goldman Sachs (and Citigroup) executives. Yet despite the rhetoric, we've chronicled Obama’s Wall Street Buddies in many previous posts. Moreover, I've written extensively about the president's connection to Goldman Sachs (a huge winner in this green-energy scam), which also includes the two Goldman executives who sat on Obama's 2008 Finance Committee, Bruce Heyman and David Heller, while Jennifer Scully and Bruce Heyman were 2008 bundlers –– Heyman was also a 2012 Obama bundler.
Also, due to the amount of money that First Solar received from American taxpayers, as well as the various ties like Goldman, Al Gore and others, we've covered this piece of the scandal since last summer, starting in June 2012 and as recent as this past January. However, through The Nation's investigation, we can now add CAP's part in "The First Solar Swindle."
There has also been a revolving door between the White House and the Soros-funded think tank, with Obama staffing his administration with many CAP officials, and some were appointed inside Obama’s 2009 Green Team: both former Climate Czar Carol Browner and Green Jobs Czar Van Jones. Meanwhile others from CAP had posts inside the Department of Energy like Steve Spinner, a two-time Obama bundler and former DOE Loan Programs Advisor. They are all central to, and fit into different categories in this green-energy scheme, of which today we'll take a peek at Van Jones.
With a hand directly in the stimulus bank, the right politicians paid off, super lobbyists with cozy ties and alliances to the White House on your payroll, what else would you need to ensure you continue to get billions of tax dollars?
The right eco-connection — especially when one of those prominent environmentalists helped in crafting the stimulus bill, belongs to powerful left-wing organizations, and is a friend of, and an advisor to the Obama White House.
Enter in the self-proclaimed communist, eco-radical, and the charismatic Van Jones, who just a month after President Obama signed the 2009-Recovery Act into law (February 2009), and just a couple of weeks after being named as the president's Green Job's Czar, the Aspen Institute held an award ceremony, co-sponsored by CH2M HILL, which saw Jones accept recognition in the category of Individual Thought Leadership.
While the AIM investigative report shows a few more Van Jones/CH2M connections, what's important to note is that at the time Van Jones accepted his White House post, he was a board member at the Apollo Alliance, which bragged about their role in the Recovery Act: "The clean energy focus of the stimulus was inspired by the Apollo Alliance's vision, the specific content of many of the bill’s provisions was influenced by policy proposals that the Apollo Alliance made last year in The New Apollo Program and the Apollo Economic Recovery Act..." (NOTE: the link to this exact quote by Apollo no longer valid, but I have the PDF file).
Jones is currently a Senior Fellow at CAP (since 2010), who states, "he is a co-founder of three successful nonprofit organizations: the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change, and Green For All."
Jones is also a bestselling author, and in late 2008 he published a book called The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, " outlining the important roles that government, entrepreneurship and investment will play in building a green economy that will also promote social equality," praised The Treehugger. After a massive Web-based, viral marketing strategy using many of his organizations like Green For All, the book became a New York Times bestseller, and some will say, "the demand for green jobs was born."
In March of 2009, the popular Jones was honored with an advisory role at the White House, however, the Obama team had known of Van for a while, as revealed in an August 2009 introduction by Valerie Jarrett, Obama's Senior Advisor –– who also interviewed Mr. Jones for his Green Jobs Czar post. Ms. Jarrett had this to say, “We were so delighted to be able to recruit him [Van Jones] into the White House. We were watching him…for as long as he’s been active out in Oakland..."
That same month, August 2009, Van's Green for All launched a program called Capital Access Program (CAP) to help green businesses secure stimulus funds –– monies that he was overseeing, of which his bio confirms, "In 2009, Van worked as the green jobs advisor to the Obama White House. There, he helped run the inter-agency process that oversaw $80 billion [some estimates are higher] in green energy recovery spending."
As a CNN contributor, Jones, during the 2012 presidential election, took aim at candidate Mitt Romney's "90 billion green energy" statement, which occurred during the first presidential debate, claiming that Mitt Romney "distorted the truth on green jobs," and the monies allocated out of the stimulus for renewable energy. At that time, Jones proclaimed, "The actual number was more like $21 billion. I know, because I helped oversee the administration's efforts in this area."
The White House Radical
"We were so delighted to be able to recruit him into the White House" ––
Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, August 12, 2009
With a hand directly in the stimulus bank, the right politicians paid off, super lobbyists with cozy ties and alliances to the White House on your payroll, what else would you need to ensure you continue to get billions of tax dollars?
The right eco-connection — especially when one of those prominent environmentalists helped in crafting the stimulus bill, belongs to powerful left-wing organizations, and is a friend of, and an advisor to the Obama White House.
Enter in the self-proclaimed communist, eco-radical, and the charismatic Van Jones, who just a month after President Obama signed the 2009-Recovery Act into law (February 2009), and just a couple of weeks after being named as the president's Green Job's Czar, the Aspen Institute held an award ceremony, co-sponsored by CH2M HILL, which saw Jones accept recognition in the category of Individual Thought Leadership.
While the AIM investigative report shows a few more Van Jones/CH2M connections, what's important to note is that at the time Van Jones accepted his White House post, he was a board member at the Apollo Alliance, which bragged about their role in the Recovery Act: "The clean energy focus of the stimulus was inspired by the Apollo Alliance's vision, the specific content of many of the bill’s provisions was influenced by policy proposals that the Apollo Alliance made last year in The New Apollo Program and the Apollo Economic Recovery Act..." (NOTE: the link to this exact quote by Apollo no longer valid, but I have the PDF file).
Jones is also a bestselling author, and in late 2008 he published a book called The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, " outlining the important roles that government, entrepreneurship and investment will play in building a green economy that will also promote social equality," praised The Treehugger. After a massive Web-based, viral marketing strategy using many of his organizations like Green For All, the book became a New York Times bestseller, and some will say, "the demand for green jobs was born."
In March of 2009, the popular Jones was honored with an advisory role at the White House, however, the Obama team had known of Van for a while, as revealed in an August 2009 introduction by Valerie Jarrett, Obama's Senior Advisor –– who also interviewed Mr. Jones for his Green Jobs Czar post. Ms. Jarrett had this to say, “We were so delighted to be able to recruit him [Van Jones] into the White House. We were watching him…for as long as he’s been active out in Oakland..."
That same month, August 2009, Van's Green for All launched a program called Capital Access Program (CAP) to help green businesses secure stimulus funds –– monies that he was overseeing, of which his bio confirms, "In 2009, Van worked as the green jobs advisor to the Obama White House. There, he helped run the inter-agency process that oversaw $80 billion [some estimates are higher] in green energy recovery spending."
As a CNN contributor, Jones, during the 2012 presidential election, took aim at candidate Mitt Romney's "90 billion green energy" statement, which occurred during the first presidential debate, claiming that Mitt Romney "distorted the truth on green jobs," and the monies allocated out of the stimulus for renewable energy. At that time, Jones proclaimed, "The actual number was more like $21 billion. I know, because I helped oversee the administration's efforts in this area."
Jones was also an advisor Solar Mosaic, of which in June 2012, was awarded a $2 million grant from DOE Sunshot Initiative. Solar Mosaic had also employed Rebuild the Dream (mentioned earlier), to do its public relations work, documented The Daily Caller in 2012.
That may be chump change in comparison to Van's other ties: CH2M Hill, the winner of $1.3 billion in stimulus funds, totaling at least $8 billion of taxpayer money and counting, as well as his role at Center for American Progress, who we can finally confirm, is also connected to, and benefited from, the billions of taxpayer dollars thrown at various stimulus projects.
But there's more stimulus related projects that Van Jones spearheaded...
$500 Million Stimulus Funds for Green Jobs Training Rife with Abuse
Besides the failed "Cash for Clunkers" program (a Jones' idea), inside the stimulus package, a huge $500 million grant went for research and job training projects to prepare workers for careers in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Again, Jones takes the credit: "Van is the founder of Green For All, a national organization working to get green jobs to disadvantaged communities. He was the main advocate for the Green Jobs Act; signed into law by George W. Bush in 2007, the Act was the first piece of federal legislation to codify the term "green jobs." Under the Obama administration, it has resulted in $500 million for green job training nationally."
In September 2011, there we a very damaging story which aired on from Fox News, in which a whistleblower exposed that his college won millions in federal grants to train workers for green jobs that didn't exist.
By January 2012, USA Today reported that Obama green jobs program had "reached just 10% of its job-placement goal" –– and this came from "an audit by the Department of Labor's inspector general, which recommended that the administration end the program and return unspent money."
Meanwhile in our 2012 expose on Obama's green jobs (and mentioned earlier in this post) –– the promise, deception and reality –– we highlighted the $500,000 of the taxpayer-funded stimulus spending that went to a PR firm to “run a barrage of ads on White-House friendly cable programs.” The ads promoted the green jobs training program.
And who were the special cable shows?
“According to government records, the Labor Department paid the money in late 2009 to a company that negotiated a media buy on MSNBC's 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' and 'The Rachel Maddow Show.'" The ad was set to run more than 100 times –– 14 times a week for two months,” yet “the official online entry on the contract listed zero jobs created as a result of the payment.”
$5 Billion Home Weatherization program: waste, fraud and abuse
Meanwhile in our 2012 expose on Obama's green jobs (and mentioned earlier in this post) –– the promise, deception and reality –– we highlighted the $500,000 of the taxpayer-funded stimulus spending that went to a PR firm to “run a barrage of ads on White-House friendly cable programs.” The ads promoted the green jobs training program.
And who were the special cable shows?
“According to government records, the Labor Department paid the money in late 2009 to a company that negotiated a media buy on MSNBC's 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' and 'The Rachel Maddow Show.'" The ad was set to run more than 100 times –– 14 times a week for two months,” yet “the official online entry on the contract listed zero jobs created as a result of the payment.”
$5 Billion Home Weatherization program: waste, fraud and abuse
Tucked inside the giant slush fund known as the stimulus, was a $5 billion Home Weatherization Program, of which was a "Van Jones approved program [special touring included] to help employment in minority communities."
Three years into the program, all we got was excessive waste, fraud and abuse, plus more cronyism and corruption — no Americans back to work. In fact, “evidence gathered (and released in March 2012) by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform suggested that the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program is a stunning example of a management failure which has wasted billions of dollars, done little to achieve energy savings, and may have put people’s lives and homes at risk. While the program may have been a failure in terms of the stated goal, "Obama's Chicago pals got rich off of his fraud-ridden weatherization programs," as exposed by the American Thinker in 2011.
The Resignation
"...opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me. They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide." –– Van Jones, September 6, 2009
Van Jones is still a strong force in the midst of the climate change debate, pushing green jobs, as well as his extreme environmental ideology, but his advisory post at the White House was short lived due to his radical past and behavior –– and in September 2009 he resigned, blaming it on a "smear campaign of lies and distortions to distract and divide."
It was Blogger Trevor Loudon of New Zealand found, whom Accuracy in Media (AIM) credits as breaking the Van Jones communists controversy (on April 6, 2009). In fact, in September 2009, Mr. Loudon stated, "His main point is that Van Jones and Barack Obama share the same Marxist ideology and background. Obama, however, is more careful and clever."
AIM goes on, "the development of the scandal, which was seized upon by World Net Daily, Glenn Beck and other media outlets and personalities, began in Loudon’s research into the existence of communist networks. Loudon blogs at www.newzeal.blogspot.com, and a compilation of his most important articles on Jones can be found here."
AIM goes on, "the development of the scandal, which was seized upon by World Net Daily, Glenn Beck and other media outlets and personalities, began in Loudon’s research into the existence of communist networks. Loudon blogs at www.newzeal.blogspot.com, and a compilation of his most important articles on Jones can be found here."
In short, Aaron Klein of World Net Daily, in April 2009, chronicled Jones' many radical affiliations and statements, and how Jones had come to be a communist; "Speaking to the East Bay Express, Jones said he first became radicalized in the wake of the 1992 Rodney King riots, during which time he was arrested" –– “I was a rowdy nationalist on April 28th, and then the verdicts came down on April 29th,” he said. “By August, I was a communist.”
Klein continues to explain, "Jones was a founder and leader of the communist revolutionary organization Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement, or STORM. That organization had its roots in a grouping of black people organizing to protest the first Gulf War. STORM was formally founded in 1994, becoming one of the most influential and active radical groups in the San Francisco Bay area" –– and that STORM worked with known communist leaders."
POLITICO, who covered the resignation, reported, "[then] Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), a top member of the subcommittee that oversees green jobs, had called for a congressional hearing on Jones." They also noted Senator Bond's concern, "Jones's membership in Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement shows his Marxist and Leninist roots." While the group disbanded in 2002, in 2004 they had a published a document entitled "Reclaiming Revolution," whereas the group's former leaders described it as a "'revolutionary cadre'" and part of a "broader movement that would finally end the murderous reign of U.S. imperialism." (NOTE: in 2010, I downloaded and read the entire the 97-page "2004 manifesto," and if you want a wake up call, READ IT!
Klein continues to explain, "Jones was a founder and leader of the communist revolutionary organization Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement, or STORM. That organization had its roots in a grouping of black people organizing to protest the first Gulf War. STORM was formally founded in 1994, becoming one of the most influential and active radical groups in the San Francisco Bay area" –– and that STORM worked with known communist leaders."
POLITICO, who covered the resignation, reported, "[then] Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), a top member of the subcommittee that oversees green jobs, had called for a congressional hearing on Jones." They also noted Senator Bond's concern, "Jones's membership in Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement shows his Marxist and Leninist roots." While the group disbanded in 2002, in 2004 they had a published a document entitled "Reclaiming Revolution," whereas the group's former leaders described it as a "'revolutionary cadre'" and part of a "broader movement that would finally end the murderous reign of U.S. imperialism." (NOTE: in 2010, I downloaded and read the entire the 97-page "2004 manifesto," and if you want a wake up call, READ IT!
Eco-Radical Resurrected: "Rebuild the Dream, Marxism for All"
Both probably not a big deal, yet what is very disturbing is Jones' extreme environmental stance as documented by Fox News, "his comments, even in recent years, were often racially charged. He's blamed "white polluters and white environmentalists" for "steering poison" to minority communities," and so on.
As recent as a 2008 interview on Uprising Radio in Los Angeles, Van Jones stated, “The green economy will start off as a small subset” of a “complete revolution” against what he calls “gray capitalism.” The goal is the redistribution of all wealth ––and Van pressed, "...we're going to push it and push it and push it, until it becomes the engine for transforming the whole society."
Even more disturbing is that the White House (Valerie Jarrett) knew exactly what they were getting when they were "delighted to recruit" Van in 2009 as their Green Jobs Czar.
According to EPA Abuse and substantiated by my research in following Van since 2009, "Jones has openly admitted that his green agenda is designed to destroy capitalism." Jones has stated: “We are going to push it and push it until it becomes the engine for transforming the whole society,” of which EPA Abuse concludes, "Van Jones is the ultimate watermelon activist. His green agenda is really a red agenda to destroy capitalism."
Jones has also teamed up with many other left-wing organizations like MoveOn.org indoctrinating and enlisting children to push their progressive agenda, Rebuild the Dream, where Jones is the president and co-founder, and recently admonished President Obama if he were to approve the Keystone Pipeline.
Meanwhile, last week, the president released his new climate change initiative, of which, amongst other measures, he vowed to save the planet by cutting emissions, but in a huge eco-play that "liberals can believe in," will be circumventing Congress to do so. And now the "community organizer in Chief," is on tour, and like Van Jones and others, the president is using our youth as the part of his and his minions propaganda to scare us; "...And if we remember what's at stake –– the world we leave to our children –– I'm convinced that this is a challenge that we will meet."
But I digress...
Even though I've scratched the surface into Van Jones' radical ties and influence –– including his 2011 endorsement of the anti-capitalist Occupy Wall Street movement, characterizing it as an "October offensive" that would rival the Tea Party –– we can confirm that he and his cohorts have established a new movement (Marxism wrapped in a nice green package) to "Rebuild the Dream," where Jones confirmed, "We are going to build a progressive counterbalance to the Tea Party.”
Well, all I can say about that is WE "freedom fighting" Americans will be watching and warning...
Left-wing Billionaire George Soros: Obama’s "Agent of Green"
Labeled by the Right as "the single most destructive leftist demagogue," there has been much said and written about the politically powerful George Soros, and last March I chronicled how the billionaire bankrolled both President Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns, and how he was actively involved in crafting the 2009-Recovery Act and then cashed in big time. In fact Soros' green tab exceeds $11 BILLION of stimulus money, and you, the taxpayer, footed the bill.
As Soros continues to bankroll the Democrat Party, with an overall political funding statistics that are startling, as reported by the New Yorker in February 2012, as well as the Left's far reaching progressive plans, he's more interested in the bottom line, which is evident by his own words, “I am basically there to make money. I cannot and do not look at the social consequences of what I do.”
Still, we find an extensive and explosive report that came in April 2012 entitled, "Obama Stimulus Dollars Funded Soros Empire" by Tina Trent of The Soros Files, which "includes an analysis of how Soros-funded organizations and networks operate, the strategies used to steer stimulus money to special interest lobbies, and an explanation of how taxpayers were forced to subsidize the progressive movement in the U.S." While it would take weeks to decipher and present this report in a summarized format, it's obvious that Van Jones and many of his organizations and associations are key players inside this massive Green Corruption scandal, and with extremely dark motives.
As Soros continues to bankroll the Democrat Party, with an overall political funding statistics that are startling, as reported by the New Yorker in February 2012, as well as the Left's far reaching progressive plans, he's more interested in the bottom line, which is evident by his own words, “I am basically there to make money. I cannot and do not look at the social consequences of what I do.”
Still, we find an extensive and explosive report that came in April 2012 entitled, "Obama Stimulus Dollars Funded Soros Empire" by Tina Trent of The Soros Files, which "includes an analysis of how Soros-funded organizations and networks operate, the strategies used to steer stimulus money to special interest lobbies, and an explanation of how taxpayers were forced to subsidize the progressive movement in the U.S." While it would take weeks to decipher and present this report in a summarized format, it's obvious that Van Jones and many of his organizations and associations are key players inside this massive Green Corruption scandal, and with extremely dark motives.
Along with his deep-rooted shadowy agenda, we know that, other than Center for American Progress, Jones' Green for All (even funding Van's causes as far back as the 90's), Soros also finances numerous left-wing organizations like ACORN, National Council of La Raza, Huffington Post, Southern Poverty Law Center, Soujourners, People for the American Way, etc. Most identified are the “anti-Fox” outlet Media Matters, the left-wing extremist Moveon.org, and the abortion pushers Planned Parenthood, yet more pertinent to my work are the radical environmentalism groups like the Tides Foundation and the Apollo Alliance –– both huge forces inside this green-energy scheme.
Political Power of the Apollo Alliance: "Green Revolution" Funded by Taxpayers
In 2010, I had alerted to the fact that the Apollo Alliance –– a left-wing organization, along with its "green jobs radical network," exerts powerful influence on the views and policies of the Obama administration –– was also involved in drafting the 2009-Recovery Act, which I previously confirmed in this post, noting that at the time Van Jones was honored with a Green Jobs Czar position inside the Obama administration, he was a board member at the Apollo Alliance.
As reported by Fox News in late 2009, and collaborated in my research, whereas the Apollo Alliance had bragged about their part in the stimulus, "In late 2008 the Apollo Alliance –– with Van Jones then serving on its board of directors –– seized on the financial crisis as an opportunity to repackage the ideas it had long been promoting as a stimulus bill. Many of those ideas would be incorporated into the enacted legislation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), in February of 2009."
In fact the Apollo Alliance was responsible for influencing "specific content of many of the stimulus bill's provisions" –– policy proposals that had originated in October 2008 in its New Apollo Program and Apollo Economic Recovery (AERA). And in case you aren't convinced, there are more similarities between ARRA and AERA than their names.
While a lengthy analysis of the legislation was posted on Apollo’s website, it no longer exists. But thanks to PDF files (this one provided by Phil Kerpen of the Capital Research Center) here is a glimpse of some of the parallels:
As reported by Fox News in late 2009, and collaborated in my research, whereas the Apollo Alliance had bragged about their part in the stimulus, "In late 2008 the Apollo Alliance –– with Van Jones then serving on its board of directors –– seized on the financial crisis as an opportunity to repackage the ideas it had long been promoting as a stimulus bill. Many of those ideas would be incorporated into the enacted legislation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), in February of 2009."
In fact the Apollo Alliance was responsible for influencing "specific content of many of the stimulus bill's provisions" –– policy proposals that had originated in October 2008 in its New Apollo Program and Apollo Economic Recovery (AERA). And in case you aren't convinced, there are more similarities between ARRA and AERA than their names.
While a lengthy analysis of the legislation was posted on Apollo’s website, it no longer exists. But thanks to PDF files (this one provided by Phil Kerpen of the Capital Research Center) here is a glimpse of some of the parallels:
- Apollo wanted the government to spend $50 billion on green jobs programs. The stimulus bill spends $110 billion.
- Apollo’s recommendation of more spending for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants was implemented.
- Apollo recommended fully funding the Weatherization Assistance program. The stimulus bill gave the program more than fives times the amount Apollo called “full funding.”
- Apollo recommendations for the electricity system, including extending the production tax credit, transmission grid upgrades, and carbon capture and storage research, were accepted.
Phil Kerpen in his October 2009 research, "The Apollo Alliance: Unifying Activists on the Left," went on to demonstrate just how much influence they had on the stimulus package.
Moreover, it should be noted that John Podesta, the former head, now Chair at Center for American Progress (covered earlier) as well as John Doerr and Al Gore's Venture Capital firm (Ellen Pao, partner at Kleiner Perkins) that snagged a huge chunk of the stimulus money, were also on the board as late as 2011.
Apollo did not merely claim credit for policy ideas. As Sen. Reid pointed out, Apollo was responsible for them. Bracken Hendrick’s [one of the founders] 2007 book Apollo’s Fire was co-authored with Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Washington) who introduced the “New Apollo Energy Act” in 2005 and 2007. It included electric vehicle tax credits, an alternative refueling property tax credit, a residential energy-efficient property tax credit, funding for advanced lighting research, and large subsidies for power transmission lines for renewable electric sources. All are contained in the 2009 stimulus legislation.
The stimulus bill also guarantees that energy- related spending projects benefit the other constituency groups in the Apollo Alliance: organized labor and social justice groups.Past and present Apollo board members include union heavyweights like Leo W. Gerard and Gerald Hudson; influential environmental groups such as Carl Pope, the former executive director and chairman of the Sierra Club; and powerful progressives like Joel Rogers (Apollo's co-founder) that stand to benefit from the clean-energy push and subsequent billions of tax dollars thrown at green energy.
Moreover, it should be noted that John Podesta, the former head, now Chair at Center for American Progress (covered earlier) as well as John Doerr and Al Gore's Venture Capital firm (Ellen Pao, partner at Kleiner Perkins) that snagged a huge chunk of the stimulus money, were also on the board as late as 2011.
And a March 2013 investigation released by Watchdog.org, revealed a very troubling report, "At the center of Washington, D.C., politics, a powerful group of left-wing activists has leveraged big money, high-level White House access and tax-code loopholes to create a lobbying organization dressed up as an educational nonprofit with the benign name of a laundry detergent."
Big-name liberal donors of The Tides Foundation include celebrities like Barbra Streisand. But more notable is Teresa Heinz Kerry, the ketchup up heiress and wife of Secretary of State John Kerry, the Climate Hawk that also participated in writing the Recovery Act, and whom the Apollo Alliance was a fan of. Then Senator Kerry worked on the portions of the bill that offered federal support for green energy projects, and eventually ended up a huge benefactor of the stimulus funds via his timely investments into Kleiner Perkin's greentech portfolio (Al Gore and John Doerr's VC firm), of which we documented in January.
Still, another donor to Tides is the American taxpayer; "from 2009 to 2011, the government has given Tides some $28 million in grants," and what do taxpayers get for that 28 mill?
Still, another donor to Tides is the American taxpayer; "from 2009 to 2011, the government has given Tides some $28 million in grants," and what do taxpayers get for that 28 mill?
"Liberalism’s most ambitious agenda –– a laundry list of programs: the Open Society Institute of George Soros, AFL-CIO, the Iraq Peace Fund, the Arab American Action Network, American Civil Liberties Union, the pro-Castro groups United for Peace and Justice and Center for Constitutional Rights, along with groups opposing free trade and gun ownership while advocating green energy and government-funded abortion."
Watch.org concludes, "significantly it’s become a meeting place of two potentially warring factions of the Left — labor and environmentalists."
Socialists, Communists and Marxists... Oh My
There is much more to say about the Apollo Alliance, which inspiration goes back to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, "to catalyze a clean energy revolution in America." According to DiscoverTheNetwor.org, "in late 2007 Apollo “spun off from its founding organizations, Campaign for America’s Future and Center for Wisconsin Strategy.
But to understand the truth about this organization, its political power and extreme left-wing agenda, one must got back to its roots, which The Manchurian President: Barack Obama's Ties to Communists, Socialists and Other Anti-American Extremists by Aaron Klein, covers in a complete chapter, "Anti-American Radicals Drafting Obama Legislation."
In short, the Apollo founders are identified as Dan Carol, Joel Rogers, Bob Borosage, and Bracken Hendricks, whose pasts and associations range from socialists, to communists to Marxists, and whose "agenda has less to do with actually helping the environment than it does with using the environmental movement to advance its left-wing political and economic schemes," wrote Mr. Klein.
In fact, Phil Kerpen of the Capital Research Center couldn't have said it better, "the radical environmentalists of the Apollo Alliance have tremendous clout with the Obama administration and Congress. The shadowy group is home to self-described communists and left-wing terrorists from the 1960s yet it somehow maintains a squeaky clean public image."
There is much more to say about the Apollo Alliance, which inspiration goes back to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, "to catalyze a clean energy revolution in America." According to DiscoverTheNetwor.org, "in late 2007 Apollo “spun off from its founding organizations, Campaign for America’s Future and Center for Wisconsin Strategy.
But to understand the truth about this organization, its political power and extreme left-wing agenda, one must got back to its roots, which The Manchurian President: Barack Obama's Ties to Communists, Socialists and Other Anti-American Extremists by Aaron Klein, covers in a complete chapter, "Anti-American Radicals Drafting Obama Legislation."
In short, the Apollo founders are identified as Dan Carol, Joel Rogers, Bob Borosage, and Bracken Hendricks, whose pasts and associations range from socialists, to communists to Marxists, and whose "agenda has less to do with actually helping the environment than it does with using the environmental movement to advance its left-wing political and economic schemes," wrote Mr. Klein.
In fact, Phil Kerpen of the Capital Research Center couldn't have said it better, "the radical environmentalists of the Apollo Alliance have tremendous clout with the Obama administration and Congress. The shadowy group is home to self-described communists and left-wing terrorists from the 1960s yet it somehow maintains a squeaky clean public image."
The real accomplishment of the Apollo Alliance has nothing to do with policy and everything to do with political power. Apollo proposes to unify the interests of naturally competing elements of the political left by raiding the U.S. Treasury of money it doesn’t have. Key Apollo allies in Congress and the Obama administration can be expected to direct enormous sums to Apollo member organizations. The funding could promote even bigger changes in public policy, creating a permanent cycle of grant making that will benefit union bosses, environmental bureaucrats, social justice community activists, and corporations that profit from government favors. Apollo will shoot for the moon, but the U.S. economy will drown in a sea of red ink.
Phil Kerpen, "The Apollo Alliance: Unifying Activists on the Left"
Maybe you are one of those that doesn't care about the anti-American sentiment behind those running our Country, which goes beyond Apollo –– though you should –– but be aware that this particular "green revolution" movement is a huge political force, spending hundreds of billions of your hard-earned money under the guise of saving the planet –– as they enrich themselves –– and they're just getting warmed up...
Talk about organized crime.
Two Women (one citizen & one energy columnist) join forces on One Mission: to expose one chunk of this Green Corruption scandal at a time.
NOTE: WE usually means my collaboration with Marita Noon, energy columnist at Townhall.com and my cohort in unearthing the massive amount of clean-energy dirt coming out of the Obama administration, which we have been exposing since June 2012, yet my research work began in 2009.
NOTE: WE usually means my collaboration with Marita Noon, energy columnist at Townhall.com and my cohort in unearthing the massive amount of clean-energy dirt coming out of the Obama administration, which we have been exposing since June 2012, yet my research work began in 2009.
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