A 700-page document disclosure by the Obama administration last week seems to have left House Republican investigators with more questions than answers when it comes to where top White House officials stood on Solyndra, and now they want to see more.

A lot more.

House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and investigations subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) sent a letter to White House legal counsel Kathryn Ruemmler yesterday afternoon requesting every piece of communication among White House staff relating to the Solyndra loan guarantee dating back to the day President Obama took office.

SPECIAL REPORT

Solyndra, a solar manufacturer that was given a $535 million loan guarantee and touted by the White House as a model for the clean energy economy, has filed for bankruptcy. E&E examines how it got there and what it means. Click here to read the report.

"Nearly eight months into our investigation, documents provided to the Committee last Friday confirm those closest to the President -- top advisors like Valerie Jarrett, Larry Summers, and Ron Klain -- had direct involvement in the Solyndra mess," Stearns said in a statement yesterday. "In addition to the cast of West Wing characters with access to the Oval Office, documents reveal a startlingly cozy relationship between wealthy donors and the President's confidantes, especially in matters related to Solyndra."

Stearns went on to chide Obama for stating in an interview earlier this week that the Solyndra loan went "through the regular review process."

"The facts tell a much different story with some of the loudest alarm bells on Solyndra's viability coming from within his very own administration," Stearns said.

Though sweeping, Stearns and Upton's latest request is not exactly surprising.

The committee's investigation into what happened at the now-bankrupt solar tube manufacturing company kicked off with a document request to the Department of Energy before expanding to the Office of Management and Budget, whose job it was to review the loan. That lead to a prolonged fight with OMB, which lead to a subpoena from the committee in July (Greenwire, July 13).

In the wake of Solyndra's stunning downfall, the committee has begun moving even further up the chain of command.

Last month, the White House had already, at the committee's request, made available several hundred pages of documents about Solyndra, many of which related to planning for Obama's now-infamous visit to the company's California plant in May 2010. But last week's batch of emails showed just how deeply involved, and concerned, top White House advisers were when it came to Solyndra.

A day before Obama's appearance at the plant some of those officials and at least one key political donor were having second thoughts about whether the president should even show up for an event at Solyndra (E&ENews PM, Oct. 3).

The emails also show that top officials at the Department of Energy, including Secretary Steven Chu's chief of staff, Rod O'Connor, held a much more optimistic view of Solyndra than officials who reviewed the loan guarantee at OMB.

"At certain critical points in the history of Solyndra's loan guarantee, the two agencies charged with oversight of the DOE Loan Guarantee Program disagreed about Solyndra's financial condition," Upton and Stearns wrote in their letter. "Yet, decisions were made to stand behind the guarantee, resulting in the President's visit to the company in May 2010 and the decision to restructure the deal and subordinate the taxpayer funds in early 2011."

The two men said their latest request will help shed new light on the extent of the involvement of the West Wing from day one.

Click here to read the letter.