The Center for Public Integrity

The CEO of Solyndra, a California-based solar energy company that received a controversial $535 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration, has resigned.

In papers filed with a bankruptcy court Wednesday, Solyndra said that Brian Harrison had left his post on Friday, Oct. 7, "as contemplated even before these cases were commenced." Solyndra shut its doors and declared bankruptcy six weeks ago.

Solyndra filed the papers in a Delaware court in response to a motion by the Department of Justice to appoint a trustee to oversee the company's bankruptcy case. The Justice Department filed its motion after Harrison and Solyndra's CFO, W.G. Stover invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer questions from a Congressional committee probing the Solyndra loan during a Sept. 23 hearing. The company is also under investigation by the Justice Department, the Treasury Department and the Department of Energy's Inspector General.

The Obama administration had selected Solyndra as the first to receive a loan under an Energy Department program designed to provide government support to companies that would create jobs while generating energy from cleaner sources, such as solar, wind and nuclear. President Obama personally visited the Solyndra complex, hailing it as a leader in this emerging field.

In August, though, Solyndra abruptly shut its doors, laying off 1,100 workers. Within days, it had declared bankruptcy. The House Energy and Commerce Committee's investigative subcommittee has held two hearings intending to unwind the deal and understand how signs of Solyndra's financial trouble had been overlooked by the Department of Energy.

Another hearing is planned Firday morning, when the committee will explore concerns that DOE refinanced the loan — putting investors in line before taxpayers — without approval from the U.S. Treasury Department. The committee has called Treasury officials to testify.

Sen. Charles Grassley is putting pressure on wireless company LightSquared to make public all records of its contacts with White House aides as it sought to set up a national broadband network.

The Iowa Republican wants to know if campaign contributions to Democrats influenced a decision by the Federal Communications Commission to grant initial government approval to the company’s plans in late January despite fears its network could interfere with global positioning systems, posing dangers to aircraft, military operations and search and rescue missions.

In two letters sent Wednesday to LightSquared and its hedge fund owner, Philip Falcone, Grassley asked both to voluntarily turn over records of all communications with government officials. Falcone is head of Harbinger Capital Partners.

“If Harbinger has nothing to hide and would like to put questions of improper influence at the FCC, Department of Commerce, and White House to rest, the public release of these communications would allow Congress and the American people to fully examine the facts and decide for themselves,” Grassley wrote. “Incomplete information about this project only undermines public confidence in the FCC’s decision to allow this project to move forward.”

LightSquared spokesman Terry Neal said, “We received the letter and we are reviewing it.” Grassley’s letters to the companies were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Last month, House Republicans launched a broad investigation into White House ties to campaign donors seeking government contracts, loans and other benefits, including LightSquared, whose employees made large contributions to Democrats while gaining access to presidential aides.

Less than three months before declaring bankruptcy, the federally-backed solar power company Solyndra sent a memo to Congress describing the company as "ramping" up its production, "competitive" with foreign rivals, and "on track" to hit its financial targets for the year.

The document obtained by ABC News, entitled "Exceeding Expectations: Solyndra Today," now appears to have grossly distorted the company's actual financial standing at a time when congressional investigators were already asking tough questions about the $535 million in federal backing Solyndra had received.

Since Solyndra sent the document to Congress on June 23, followed by a mid-July letter making more claims about its financial strength, the company has laid off nearly its entire workforce, has declared bankruptcy, and has been raided by the FBI.

The promises to the House Energy and Commerce Committee's investigative subcommittee arrived this summer, after the subcommittee's investigation into the massive federal loan to Solyndra had already been underway for months. In March, iWatch News and ABC News began reporting on simmering questions about the role political influence may have played in Solyndra's selection as the Obama administration's first loan guarantee recipient.

The June memo and July letter both appeared to be efforts to counter claims that the company was in financial trouble, saying they were providing "the most accurate and up-to-date information."