The Biden Administration Boosted A Battery Maker That Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm Was Invested In
DID JENNIFER GRANHOLM USE HER OFFICE TO LINE HER POCKETS?
- Yesterday, electric battery and vehicle manufacturer Proterra officially went public and began trading on the NASDAQ.
- Proterra is at the center of a scandal involving Biden’s Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who owned up to $5 million of stock in the company while the administration actively promoted it during official events.
- Granholm’s actions violated a pledge she made during her confirmation hearing, when she committed to the Senate that she would avoid the appearance of any conflicts of interest.
- Granholm even signed an ethics pledge promising to divest of holdings and leave positions that might involve competing interests.
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ACTIVELY AND REPEATEDLY PROMOTED PROTERRA
- Biden tasked Granholm with selling the administration’s green agenda and infrastructure plan.
- With Granholm at the helm of the Energy Department, the Biden administration promoted Proterra on several occasions at official taxpayer-funded events.
- On April 19, Kamala Harris visited a bus company whose main supplier is Proterra.
- Just two days later, Biden participated in a virtual tour showcasing Proterra, promising at the end to visit in person.
- A few days later, Proterra’s CEO Jack Allen was invited to take part in Biden’s climate summit.
- Weeks before Biden boosted Proterra, the electric battery company hired a pair of Obama administration alums to lobby the White House for funding.
- By promoting Proterra, the Biden administration was helping increase the company’s value before it went public, potentially lining Granholm’s pockets.
- Yale Law School Professor Jonathan Macey pointed out that this promotion is “like money in the bank” to anyone with a vested interest in the company.
OTHER TOP DEMOCRATS ARE MAJOR INVESTORS IN PROTERA
- Nicholas and Joby Pritzker, members of the Democrat megadonor Pritzker family that includes Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, are also financially tied to Proterra.
- The Pritzkers’ firm, Tao Capital Partners, reportedly owns up to 7 percent of Proterra now that it has gone public.
- Former Vice President Al Gore’s investment firm Generation Investment Management raised $55 million in financing for Proterra in 2017, with Proterra being listed as one the firm’s major green energy investments.
- In recent weeks, Gore reportedly spoke separately to both Biden himself and top Biden advisor Steve Ricchetti, urging them to keep climate-related spending as a focus of the infrastructure package.
GRANHOLM ONLY DIVESTED FROM PROTERRA AFTER SHE WAS CAUGHT
- In April, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the ranking member on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, called for an investigation into Granholm’s connections with Proterra.
- Granholm sold her 240,520 shares in Proterra only after extensive criticism for her blatant conflict of interest.
- Granholm earned a $1.6 million profit on her shares of Proterra, and was able to defer paying capital gains taxes on this sale because cabinet secretaries are not penalized on assets they are required to sell.
