President-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory in the November 5th election was evidently noticed early by insiders in President Joe Biden’s Justice Department, who that very night moved to dismiss a major solar energy fraud lawsuit just hours before polls closed.
Critics call it an attempted cover-up, meant to bury a potentially massive green energy scandal involving millions of taxpayer dollars.
On November 5 at 5:20 p.m. ET, as exit polls indicated Vice President Kamala Harris’ pending defeat, DOJ trial lawyer Anthony Gill emailed plaintiffs announcing plans to dismiss a qui tam lawsuit involving the failed Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project in Nevada.
A qui tam lawsuit is a Latin phrase for when a private citizen sues on behalf of the U.S. government to recover money, often over allegations of theft or fraud.
“The United States intends to intervene in this case for the purpose of dismissing the qui tam claims under 31 U.S.C. 3730(c)(2)(A),” Anthony Gill reportedly said in the email.
“The United States has determined that dismissal is commensurate with the public interest and that the matter does not warrant the continued expenditure of government resources. The anticipated discovery and litigation obligations associated with the continued litigation of this case will impose an undue burden on the U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Energy, and U.S. Department of Justice.”
The $1 billion Crescent Dunes project, which received an eyewatering $737 million in federal loan guarantees during the Obama administration, went bankrupt in 2020.
Sources familiar with the lawsuit say taxpayers were billed between $200 million to $700 million.
Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.V., noticed the dismissal timing and demanded answers from Attorney General Merrick Garland about the potential scandal.
“After three and a half years of investigation, during which the case was under seal, the Department chose to allow CMB Export to proceed with prosecution as of August 2023. However, on November 6, 2024—just one day after the presidential election—the Department reversed course, intervening to dismiss the case with no clear justification provided beyond vague references to ‘public interest’ and the ‘expenditure of government resources,” Miller wrote.
Miller first brought the cover-up story to Breitbart News.
“On November 5th, the American people rejected the Biden administration’s radical green new deal agenda and voted for affordable energy,” Miller told Brietbart.
“If this project isn’t fulfilling its commitment, the DOJ needs to fully investigate. There must be accountability and transparency for every taxpayer dollar spent by the government.”
The DOJ’s reversal comes after previously declining to intervene in June 2023 and allowing the case to be unsealed in January 2024.