Attorney General Jeff Sessions has directed Justice Department prosecutors to ask FBI officials involved in a probe into the Uranium One deal for more information on the closed investigation, NBC News reported Thursday morning, citing unnamed law enforcement officials.
Led by President Donald Trump, Republicans have sought to deflect attention paid to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe by questioning Hillary Clinton’s role in the Uranium One deal as secretary of state. The deal, which was approved by several agencies in the U.S. government, allowed the Russian nuclear energy agency to acquire a stake in Uranium One, a Canadian company with uranium extraction operations in the U.S. Conservatives have tried to link the approval of the deal to donations made to the Clinton Foundation despite the fact that Clinton’s state department was just one of nine agencies tasked with approving the deal.
Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Stephen Boyd previously told House Judiciary Chair Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) that DOJ lawyers would give Sessions recommendations on whether the Justice Department should appoint a special counsel to investigate the Uranium One deal, and the interviews are part of an effort to offer those recommendations.
The FBI previously investigated the deal but closed the probe without filing charges. A senior law enforcement official told NBC News that there were allegations of corruption surrounding the deal. Clinton has denied that she played any role in approving the deal.
Read NBC News’ full report here.
