A Uranium One Deal Investigation? DOJ Reportedly Pressuring FBI About Evidence Involving Hillary Clinton
Is a Uranium One deal investigation coming?
After months of partisan bickering over the controversial Uranium One deal, it appears the Justice Department is finally pressuring the FBI to reveal the evidence it has in its possession over possible Hillary Clinton involvement, an explosive new report by NBC News claims.
The report says that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has directed prosecutors to begin questioning the FBI on the recovered evidence. Republicans have repeatedly claimed that both Bill and Hillary Clinton stood to gain millions over the Uranium One deal, which took place in 2010 under the stewardship of former-President Barack Obama. In 2015, the New York Times reported that some of the people related to the Uranium One deal contributed millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation, and Bill Clinton was paid $500,000 by a Russian bank with links to the agreement for a speech.
The deal allowed Russia’s state atomic energy company to mine uranium at sites in the United States. But what is at the center of all the ruckus is the Republican claim that Clinton, who was Secretary of State at the time, signed off on the controversial deal, even though it had repercussions for U.S. national security.
Clinton and other Democrats have denied the charges of corruption, claiming the so-called Uranium One scandal is an excuse concocted by Trump allies and Republicans to deflect from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia.
Attorney General Sessions orders fresh look at Uranium One deal https://t.co/lXLUdBD69M via @nbcnews
— WHCA (@whca) December 21, 2017
Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, as well as Donald Trump’s lawyers, have called for the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate Hillary Clinton’s role in the Uranium One deal. The unearthing of text messages sent by FBI agent Peter Strzok disparaging Donald Trump has amplified those calls, as reported by Axios. Strzok was fired from the Russian collusion investigation team by Special Counsel Mueller after the messages were uncovered by the Inspector General.
“The Department of Justice and FBI cannot ignore the multiple problems that have been created by these obvious conflicts of interests. These new revelations require the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate,” Trump attorney Jay Sekulow said last week.
The Democrats contend that the investigation into Uranium One deal is a contrivance devised by Republicans who are increasingly unhappy with the way Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump’s purported collusion with Russia is progressing. Democrats argue it is a means to discredit Mueller, who has already served former Trump allies, including Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort, with criminal indictments.
Despite the protestations, though, it appears the DOJ is set to make the FBI re-open its investigation into the Uranium One deal.
