Politico‘s Darren Samuelsohn posted a smart piece over the weekend noting that while the Obama administration may have broken the law when they subordinated taxpayers to Solyndra investors last December, there is not much anybody could do about in court:
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“Although there’s language in the EPACT as I understand it to prevent subordination of the loan, there’s really no penalty for doing so, so that’s a little troublesome,” Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) told POLITICO last week.
Several other critics of the Solyndra loan guarantee said they are limited in their options, too — beyond making a big stink.
This is all true: EPACT did not create a citizen-suit provision and it would be next to impossible for any one litigant to show the harm necessary to establish standing. So it is unlikely Republicans can hold Obama accountable for breaking the law in court.
But the Constitution does provide other means for Congress to check Executive Branch lawlessness: impeachment. House Republicans would not have to impeach Obama, just the highest ranking official(s) that knowingly broke the law. Apparently, that just may be Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
