An Obama administration official actively collaborated with a prominent left-wing think tank in 2011 to advance the president’s green energy agenda, in possible violation of federal law, emails obtained by the Washington Free Beacon show.

The emails reveal that in July 2011, Steve Spinner, then a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, sought and received guidance from Jonathan Silver, executive director of the Department of Energy’s loans program, regarding a CAP editorial urging Congress to expand funding for the program and permanently establish a Clean Energy Deployment Administration, or “green bank,” to further fund clean energy projects.

Before joining CAP in 2010, Spinner worked with Silver as a “chief strategic operations officer” in the DoE. Spinner and his wife Allison have raised more than $2.2 million for Obama over the past two years, and almost $4.4 million since 2007, according to the New York Times. The Spinners are the president’s tenth largest bundlers for the current cycle.

His discussion with Silver took place over several days via Spinner and Silver’s personal email accounts. The emails also indicate that the two were in touch multiple times over the phone during that time.

“Want to tell you about a CAP piece we’re submitting to Editorial tomorrow and releasing mid-week,” Spinner wrote to Silver on the evening of July 10, 2011. “Want to make sure it reflects your goals and best thinking.”

Spinner sent a draft of the piece shortly thereafter, which Silver read and responded to in a lengthy email containing a number of suggested revisions. Nearly all of them were incorporated into the final draft published days later.

“Point out that [the loans] program enjoys widespread support. Even chamber [the U.S. Chamber of Commerce] supports a green bank,” he advised. “Note that a build up of [CEDA] requires a transition period.”

Silver also suggested that Spinner should advocate for additional taxpayer funding for more common green energy technology, not just the most innovative, in order to “leapfrog the old energy model.”

Spinner was very appreciative of the recommendations, and indicated that he would let Silver sign off on the final version...

The primary thrust of Silver’s recommendations appears to have been a desire to instill a sense of urgency around the DoE loans program, which was scheduled to -- and ultimately did -- lose its authorization in October 2011.

Silver was attempting to pressure Congress and other branches of the administration, such as the Treasury Department and the Office of Management & Budget, to back reauthorization as well as the creation of a “green bank”...

A former official in the George W. Bush administration told the Free Beacon that such unmediated collusion between a senior federal official and a prominent think tank was uncommon. “It’s certainly unusual, but not surprising given CAP’s close relationship with the White House and the Democrat Party,” said the former official.

Scott Coffina, a former White House associate counsel who handled political legal issues for the Bush administration, told the Free Beacon that Silver’s actions may have violated federal law prohibiting agency employees from political lobbying.

Though no individual has ever been successfully prosecuted for such an offense, the law clearly forbids the use of federal funds -- including employee salaries -- for lobbying efforts to promote administration policy.

The Department of Justice has determined that although direct contact between federal officials and members of Congress and their staff is exempted under law, grassroots lobbying campaigns are not.

The DoE acknowledges these lobbying restrictions on its website.

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