Let's Take a Closer Look at the Law Firm That Represented Solyndra, Shall We? [JohnE.]

Earlier in the week, the Los Angeles Times reported that yet another Obama fundraiser was involved with the federal loan guarantee program that backed Solyndra.

Steve Spinner, who helped monitor the Energy Department's issuance of $25 billion in government-backed loans to renewable energy projects, was one of Obama's top fundraisers in 2008 and is raising money for the president's 2012 reelection campaign.

Spinner did not have any role in the selection of applicants for the loan program and, in fact, was recused from the decision to grant a $535-million loan guarantee to Solyndra Inc. because his wife's law firm represented the company, administration officials said Friday.

So, who is she and what is the name of the law firm?

Well, her name is Allison Spinner and she is a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. She also personally contributed $2,300 to Barack Obama in 2007.

She wasn't the only employee at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati to donate money to Obama's Presidential campaign. A search for donations from individuals with an employer listed as "Wilson Sonsini" and "WSGR" returns over $130,000 in donations. These are donations from individuals, remember. For reference, General Electric donated $529,855 to Obama.

There were six individuals who donated more than $4,000 to Obama at the firm and one of them was John Roos, CEO of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Roos was also one of Obama's top fundraisers in 2008, bundling more than $500,000. What is Mr. Roos doing these days? Well, President Obama appointed him ambassador to Japan in 2009.

More on John Roos from an April 2008 interview:

It’s impossible to tell for sure exactly how much the two attorneys have raised so far. But within Wilson Sonsini, at least, Roos is the winner. Lawyers at the firm had donated $60,500 to Obama by the end of February, and only $48,850 to Clinton. The firm’s lawyers based in California donated $31,050 to Clinton’s campaign and $48,350 to Obama’s. That makes the firm one of the top five California law firm contributors to each campaign. Roos could be talking for either campaign when commenting on his success so far: “In every cycle, lawyers are key,” he said.

In a completely unrelated story, the audit is in on how much money the law firms raked in handling the Solyndra loan.

Morrison Foerster, which represented the Department of Energy as the loan guarantor, received more than $1.9 million for legal services. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, which represented Solyndra, received more than $2.4 million.

Nothing to see here, move along now.

Posted by ace, but actually written by JohnE.

posted by Ace at 01:45 PM

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