After dogged reporting, ABC’s investigative unit, headed by Brian Ross of dubious Toyota fame, found out the shocking news that Fisker received a $529 million federal, and now the unpatricotic SOB has the Fisker Karmas built in Finland. ABC is shocked, I say shocked:

“With the approval of the Obama administration, an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work.”

Isn’t that downright disgusting? Nevertheless, Fisker and the U.S. Department of Energy are unrepentant, claiming that the money was spent in America, developing the car.

Fisker also says the company was unable to find an automaker in the U.S. that is willing to make a small run – 8,000 a year – of the $96,000 plug-in hybrid Karma. The Karma is built by Valmet, a Finnish company that specialized in small runs.

Fisker’s second vehicle, the Nina, will be built at a former General Motors plant in Wilmington, Delaware.

Even the Freep, usually on the side of the American worker and apple pie, could not help but snicker:

“In its report, tagged an exclusive, ABC News linked the loan to the overseas production, raising questions at a time when House Republicans are investigating whether another Energy Department loan to solar company Solyndra, now in bankruptcy, was awarded inappropriately.”

“But the Energy Department noted that it was known before the loan was even awarded to Fisker that the company’s first run would be made overseas, though the funding would support jobs in the U.S. For instance, the Wall Street Journal noted the Finnish production contract when it wrote about the loan at the time it was announced in September 2009.”

And just in case ABC doesn’t have old copies of the WSJ sitting aroud, TTAC revealed on September 1, 2009 the shocking news that “Fisker has contracted with Valmet to produce its luxury EV Karma, with production to start early next year.“ And we were wrong. It didn’t start in early 2011. Not by a long shot. Now here is a scandal worthy of Brian Ross. He blew it.

(Hat tip to an anoymous source in Salo, Finland)

Reynolds wraps up his letter with gusto:

Brian Ross is on a “long-planned vacation,” according to ABC News, and “our lawyers are looking at it, and we will respond.” But did he take a private jet?