Taxpayers lost more than half-a-billion dollars in loans to Solyndra, a green energy firm whose main investor was a campaign donor for Barack Obama.  Now it turns out Solyndra execs took home taxpayer-subsidized bonuses while their company, once touted by Joe Biden and Barack Obama as a “true engine of economic growth,” prepared to shutter operations and declare bankruptcy:

“Senior executives at Solyndra collected hefty bonuses — ranging from $37,000 to $60,000 apiece — as the Fremont company bled cash and careened toward bankruptcy this summer.

“Bankruptcy documents filed in Delaware earlier this week reveal that more than a dozen senior executives at the defunct solar manufacturing company were awarded sizable quarterly bonuses April 15 and again July 8. Solyndra ceased operations in late August and filed for bankruptcy Sept. 6. About 1,100 employees were laid off without severance pay.

“The bonuses, awarded to more than a dozen executives, came on top of what were already highly competitive salaries. Karen Alter, Solyndra’s vice president of marketing, had an annual base salary of $275,000; she was awarded a $55,000 bonus in April and again in July. Ben Bierman, Solyndra’s executive vice president of operations and engineering, had an annual base salary of $300,000; he was awarded $60,000 in April and again in July. Will Stover, the company’s chief financial officer, was also awarded a $60,000 bonus in April and again in July.”

Let’s not forget that even after the White House raised concerns about a potential Solyndra default, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown was handed a $2,500 campaign donation from a Solyndra board member.

With all of this going on, the White House apparently gave strong consideration to a bailout:

“Days before Solyndra collapsed, the Obama administration considered a bailout that would have provided an infusion of cash and a new board of directors, including two directors appointed by the Energy Department.

“Officials rejected the plan, which was recommended in August by the investment banking firm Lazard. Lazard was paid $1 million for analyzing options related to the faltering Fremont company.”

As of today, the Energy Department’s Inspector General has began more than 100 criminal investigations pertaining to 2009 economic “stimulus” spending.  And just this morning a congressional panel overrode Democratic objections and took the step of authorizing subpoenas for internal White House communications related to a half-billion dollar taxpayer loan guarantee for the failed solar company Solyndra.

Despite the fact that Sherrod Brown has been out-fundraised for reelection - one is left to wonder – what level of controversy does the scandal need to reach before his campaign returns the $2,500 contribution they received from a Solyndra board member?