So ... guess who said they got a late start on the Solyndra documents that the White House dumped on the Hill last Friday? House Republicans. Guess whom they blamed? The White House.
Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, told Politico on Tuesday that the White House gave the documents to the Democrats on Friday and to the Republicans on Monday because the White House is mean and wanted to give its own party an advantage.
“They got them before we did,” Stearns is quoted saying. “Obviously I think the administration wanted to spin what they felt was an embarrassing situation. Unfortunately for them, it highlighted the problem more than they thought they could spin it.”
Not so fast, Stearnsy!
Actually, Sam Spector, a GOP panel staffer, received the papers at 6:50 p.m. Friday.
Stearnsy is now saying the documents were delivered too late to be read.
“It appears that the White House delivered the latest documents to both offices after hours at nearly 7 p.m. on Friday evening, which caused the confusion,” Stearns tells us.
“In all fairness to Cliff Stearns, maybe his staff was busy holding hearings at Cap Lounge,” quips a Democrat familiar with the investigation.
A man from Kentucky attends a Tea Party Patriots rally on the West Front of the Capitol to protest the IRS' targeting of conservative political groups.
Roll Call has launched a new feature, Hill Navigator, to advise congressional staffers and would-be staffers on how to manage workplace issues on Capitol Hill. Please send us your questions — anything from office etiquette, to handling awkward moments, to what happens when the work life gets too personal. Submissions will be treated anonymously.
