The Maine Wire
  • News
  • Commentary
  • Maine Wire TV
  • About
  • Contact
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending News
  • Mills’ Late-Term Abortion Bill Gets Last Minute Work Session for Thursday Afternoon
  • Maine Republicans Score Tentative Victory in Delaying Trans Trafficking Bill
  • Lawmakers Nix Public School Transparency Bill Favored by Bipartisan Majority of Mainers
  • Asylum Seekers Staying in Sanford Inn Will Soon Have to Find Another Place To Stay
  • Chellie Pingree Says “No One Is Coming For Your Gas Stove” But Daughter Hannah Pingree Disagrees
  • New England Energy Prices Have Increased as Demand Has Declined Due to Climate Policies, Report Finds
  • Gardiner High School Implements Controversial New “American Flag Only” Policy Following Student Clash
  • Taxes in Portland Could Rise by 10 Percent If State Declines to Help With Asylum Seeker Crisis: WGME
Facebook Twitter Instagram
The Maine Wire
Login
Thursday, June 8
  • News
  • Commentary
  • Maine Wire TV
  • About
  • Contact
The Maine Wire
Home » News » Investigators contacted King's wind company days before report released
News

Investigators contacted King's wind company days before report released

Steve RobinsonBy Steve RobinsonMarch 27, 2012No Comments5 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Reddit
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

While U.S. Senate candidate Angus King was busy discussing the ethical benefits of selling his company, behind the scenes Independence Wind was becoming part of a congressional probe into inappropriate federal loan guarantees.Despite an increasingly tangled timeline, the former governor’s campaign maintains he had no knowledge of the probe.

Congressional investigators sent an official letter to King’s wind company, informing them of an expanded investigation into the recipients of a stimulus-funded Department of Energy loan program, from which King’s company received a $102 million loan guarantee. The letter, sent to King business partner Robert Gardiner, was dated March 14, two days before King and his campaign conducted multiple interviews discussing his decision to divest himself of holdings in the company, and six days before the King campaign claims the candidate was made aware of the investigation.

“In light of Solyndra’s bankruptcy and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) apparent rush to approve billions of dollar in loan guarantees before the expiration of the 1705 loan guarantee program, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (the Committee) began an investigation of the entire DOE 1705 loan guarantee program. The Committee’s investigation reveals a troubling pattern where DOE officials appear to have violated agency rules and regulations to approve otherwise ineligible loan commitments. Based on these revelations, the Committee intends to expand its investigation.”

The letter requests that King’s company begin a strict process of document preservation to assist in the investigation:

“To enable the Committee to understand DOE’s loan process, the Committee requests that all beneficiaries of DOE-based loan guarantees produce documents, including communications, between their company and DOE surrounding the issuance of loan guarantee commitments.”

King’s campaign said Monday they were standing by previous statements that King was unaware of the investigation until Tuesday the 20th, and that Robert Gardiner did not make him aware of the letter in advance of their negotiated sale that closed on Sunday, March 18. The King campaign will not release details of the sale, but documents show the company at one time had over $120 million in cash in a bank account in New Hampshire.

Robert Gardiner said he and King had “read in the papers” that the Oversight Committee was reviewing the Department of Energy loan guarantee program.

“They sent me a letter to my Brunswick office that was then forwarded to me in Louisiana,” said Gardiner. Gardiner said the letter requested information about the Record Hill wind project, but, before they had a chance to respond, the report was released. When asked if King was aware of the investigation prior to his press appearances, Gardiner said no.

“He didn’t know a thing about it.”

King’s campaign said the candidate began the process of selling his stake in Independence Wind on March 12, and noted an email on that date from King to his attorneys, asking them to begin working on the necessary paperwork.

King spoke with multiple media sources about his plans to distance himself from Independence Wind, beginning with an interview on New England Cable News on Friday the 16th, the same day Gardiner would have received the letter from investigators via email. King spoke with MPBN that day as well, and reporter AJ Higgins filed a story that afternoon titled “King Resigning from Wind Company he Founded”. According to the story, “King says the paperwork that allows him to exit Independence Wind should be complete by the first of next week. As a result, any financial benefits he might have received from federal energy subsidies as a principal in the company will no longer be valid issues in his campaign.”

On Monday, the Associated Press ran a story based on a similar interview with King, titled “Angus King: If I’m elected, I’ll put investments in blind trust”:

“Independent Senate candidate Angus King completed the transfer of his stake in a wind energy company he co-founded to his business partner and said Monday he would go one step further to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest by placing his investments in a blind trust.”

The AP reported that King had formally transferred his stake in Independence Wind on Sunday night, March 18. The AP story was widely distributed throughout Maine media.

There was no mention of the congressional investigation in any of the interviews.

The Oversight Committee’s report naming King’s company was released on the evening of Monday the 19th. The Maine Wire contacted the King campaign on Tuesday the 20th and asked them about the report. According to Crystal Canney, King’s communications director, neither King nor the campaign was aware of the report until they received a copy of it from The Maine Wire on the 20th.

A spokesperson for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform told The Maine Wire that attorneys for the committee had sent the letter to Independence Wind, along with 25 other companies named in the pending report. The letter was sent via email on Friday March 16, and King’s business partner responded to the committee on Tuesday March 20th, acknowledging receipt.

Though King and Gardiner finalized the sale of Independence Wind on Sunday, March 18, the King campaign told The Maine Wire that Gardiner did not forward the letter from the Oversight Committee to King until the evening of Tuesday, March 20.

Asked whether the candidate had concern that he completed the sale of a company that at one time had over $120 million in liquid assets without knowledge of an expanded congressional investigation, King’s campaign would not comment further.

2012-03-14 DEI to Gardiner-IndependenceWind – 1705 loan guarantee document preservation due 3-28

Angus King
Previous ArticleObamacare 2nd Anniversary Present: Tax Hikes for the Middle Class
Next Article Finalized Maine Today Media deal results in Sussman owning 75% of paper
Steve Robinson
  • Twitter

Steve Robinson is the Editor-in-Chief of The Maine Wire. ‪He can be reached by email at Robinson@TheMaineWire.com.

Related Posts

Mills’ Late-Term Abortion Bill Gets Last Minute Work Session for Thursday Afternoon

June 7, 2023

Maine Republicans Score Tentative Victory in Delaying Trans Trafficking Bill

June 7, 2023

Lawmakers Nix Public School Transparency Bill Favored by Bipartisan Majority of Mainers

June 7, 2023

Comments are closed.

Recent News

Mills’ Late-Term Abortion Bill Gets Last Minute Work Session for Thursday Afternoon

June 7, 2023

Maine Republicans Score Tentative Victory in Delaying Trans Trafficking Bill

June 7, 2023

Lawmakers Nix Public School Transparency Bill Favored by Bipartisan Majority of Mainers

June 7, 2023

Asylum Seekers Staying in Sanford Inn Will Soon Have to Find Another Place To Stay

June 7, 2023

Chellie Pingree Says “No One Is Coming For Your Gas Stove” But Daughter Hannah Pingree Disagrees

June 7, 2023
Newsletter

News

  • News
  • Campaigns & Elections
  • Opinion & Commentary
  • Media Watch
  • Education
  • Media

Maine Wire

  • About the Maine Wire
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Submit Commentary
  • Complaints
  • Maine Policy Institute

Resources

  • Maine Legislature
  • Legislation Finder
  • Get the Newsletter
  • Maine Wire TV

Facebook Twitter Instagram Steam RSS
  • Post Office Box 7829, Portland, Maine 04112

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Sign In or Register

Welcome Back!

Login below or Register Now.

Lost password?

Register Now!

Already registered? Login.

A password will be e-mailed to you.