Piling On: More Changes of Possible Obama Corruption

New video of White House press secretary Jim Carney explaining the Solyndra scandal just when the Daily Beast levels new charges of corruption against the Obama administration...



Eli Lake at the Daily Beast breaks the story: 


"The four-star Air Force general who oversees Air Force Space Command walked into a highly secured room on Capitol Hill a week ago to give a classified briefing to lawmakers and staff, and dropped a surprise. Pressed by members, Gen. William Shelton said the White House tried to pressure him to change his testimony to make it more favorable to a company tied to a large Democratic donor.

According to officials familiar with the situation, Shelton’s prepared testimony was leaked in advance to the company. And the White House asked the general to alter the testimony to add two points: that the general supported the White House policy to add more broadband for commercial use; and that the Pentagon would try to resolve the questions around LightSquared with testing in just 90 days. Shelton chafed at the intervention, which seemed to soften the Pentagon’s position and might be viewed as helping the company as it tries to get the project launched, officials said.


The White House confirmed Wednesday that its Office of Management and Budget suggested changes to the general’s testimony but insisted such reviews are routine and not influenced by politics."

To quote the legendary Bill Mayes, "But Wait, there's MORE!".   It turns out that President Obama himself was personally invested in LightSquared...From The Center for Public Integrity:

When the Federal Communications Commission granted LightSquared Inc. expedited approval to launch a new wireless Internet service, some powerful voices in Washington expressed alarm, including the Pentagon and one-third of the U.S. Senate.  

LightSquared's bloodline is particularly rich. Its ties to President Obama's supporters and the administration's policy interests run deep, explaining the company's ability to do battle with powerful entrenched interests: 

Several major Democratic campaign contributors and longtime Obama supporters have held investments in the company and its affiliates during its tangled decade of existence. They include Obama's good friend and political donor Donald Gips, his former White House personnel chief, who now serves as U.S. ambassador to South Africa. Records show that Gips maintained an interest, worth as much as $500,000, as the FCC was weighing LightSquared's request. 

Obama installed one of his biggest fundraisers, Julius Genachowski, a campaign "bundler" and broadband cheerleader, as chairman of the FCC, whose staff granted LightSquared a special waiver to operate.

LightSquared's current majority owner, hedge fund manager Philip Falcone, made large donations to the Democratic Party while his broadband request was pending before the FCC. He and LightSquared executives met with White House officials. Neither Falcone nor the White House would comment on what was discussed. 

LightSquared employs lobbying firms that wield formidable Democratic firepower: Ed Rendell, former governor of Pennsylvania and onetime chair of the Democratic National Committee, as well as the firm of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt.

Jeffrey J. Carlisle, the company's vice president for regulatory affairs, served with Genachowski and Gips on Obama's transition team.