From The Hill:
A nonprofit watchdog group is calling for an investigation of Energy Department (DOE) emails that might have been used to shield evidence of a faltering loan program from the public.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) wants to know whether DOE directives to use personal email accounts to discuss official business violated public records laws. Personal email accounts are considered outside the purview of the Federal Records Act, a law that can be used to obtain government correspondence for investigations and other matters. The DOE program in question awarded now-bankrupt solar-panel maker Solyndra a $535 million federal loan guarantee.