Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee called this afternoon for venture capitalists who invested in Solyndra to come before Congress and explain why they thought the now-bankrupt solar energy company was a good bet.

At a time when the Obama administration is taking a beating for pouring $527 million into Solyndra in the form of a loan guarantee before the company went bust, the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Henry Waxman of California, and Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado, who serves as the top Democrat on the investigations subcommittee, appear intent on demonstrating that private investors also had reason to believe the company had a promising future.

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.

In their letter to Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) -- who for the past six months has led the GOP investigation into Solyndra -- Waxman and DeGette specifically called for the testimony of Steve Mitchell, managing director of Argonaut Private Equity, and Jameson Mcjunkin, founding member of Madrone Capital Partners.

"One important question for the Committee to examine is whether there were sound reasons to make an investment in Solyndra," the Democrats wrote. "Some sophisticated and experienced private venture capital investors thought the answer was yes, and they invested over $1 billion in Solyndra -- twice the support provided by the federal government. The Committee would benefit from hearing the views of these private investors as we assess the merits of federal decisions regarding the Solyndra loan guarantee."

The investments of both Argonaut and Madrone have been of particular interest to members looking into the Solyndra deal.

Republicans have long been suspicious of Argonaut's financial connections to well-known Obama fundraiser George Kaiser. In the nearly three weeks since Solyndra announced that it would file for bankruptcy, GOP officials and political groups like the Republican National Committee have said that Kaiser's involvement in a company that received so much funding from the government is an example of "crony capitalism" at its worst.

Democrats have countered by pointing to Madrone's connections to the Walton family, major Republican donors who also own Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Neither Madrone nor Argonaut returned requests for comment this afternoon.

After hearing from administration officials who oversaw the loan guarantee program last week, the Energy and Commerce investigations subcommittee is scheduled to reconvene Friday to hear testimony from Solyndra executives (E&E Daily, Sept. 18).

"With bankruptcy, an FBI raid, and no less than three cabinet-level agencies now investigating the President's flagship loan guarantee, we look forward to hearing directly from Solyndra's executives under oath this Friday," a Republican Energy and Commerce Committee spokesman said this afternoon. "We also have many questions for the venture capitalists, whom the Obama administration allowed to jump ahead of the taxpayers during a restructuring of Solyndra's loan which appears to have violated the plain letter of the law. Committee investigators are currently seeking more documents from the venture capitalists that invested in Solyndra, and we will see where the information leads us."