At a House hearing marked by partisan rancor, Energy Secretary Steven Chu disputed Republicans' allegations that politics played a role in his decision to approve a loan guarantee to now-bankrupt solar energy company Solyndra.
E-mails obtained and released by Republican committee members have suggested that there was some disagreement within the Obama administration about Solyndra's economic viability. Some lawmakers have suggested that the White House pressured the Dept. of Energy to take Herculean steps to save the foundering company, which declared bankruptcy late this summer.