‘Inappropriate If Not Unethical’: Senator Unloads on Granholm for Misleading Investors With Rushed Funding Award
6th June 2023
The Biden administration misled investors by prematurely announcing a massive $200 million grant to a lithium battery-maker that has since been revoked, leading to drastic fluctuations in the company’s stock price based on false information, according to the top Republican on the Senate Energy Committee.
The White House and the Department of Energy framed the funding for Microvast as a done deal in press releases last October, but officials later said the companies were still being vetted after the Washington Free Beacon uncovered the company’s extensive ties to China. The administration officially pulled the plug last month on the grant to lithium battery-maker Microvast after facing heat from Congress.
“It is irrefutable the White House and Department of Energy’s deceptive press releases were a major catalyst in misleading investors,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.) in a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Monday. “It is clear that in the minds of investors the Department’s loan to Microvast had been perceived as a guarantee.”
How else are you going to get 10% for the Big Guy?