US Attorney General Jeff Sessions is considering a special counsel to investigate former secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s role in a special deal that gave Russia uranium mining rights in America.
The Justice Department informed the House Judiciary Committee on Monday of its interest in launching probes into a variety of issues, including the Uranium One deal.
Under the 2010 deal, Russia’s Rosatom acquired Canadian mining company Uranium One, which had “control of one-fifth of all uranium production capacity in the United States,” according to a report by The New York Times.
Because of uranium’s strategic nature, the deal had to be signed off by several federal government committees, including the State Department, which was then run by Clinton from 2009 to 2013.
As Russia gradually took over the mines under Clinton’s watch, Uranium One chairman’s family foundation donated a total of $2.35 million to the Clinton Foundation, according to Canadian records.
Shortly after the deal, Hillary’s husband, former US President Bill Clinton, gave a speech in Russia for a hefty $500,000 paid by a Russian investment bank that promoted Uranium One stock at the time, the Times noted.
According to Fox News, Sessions has also confirmed the possibility of a probe in response to a letter by lawmakers asking about the sale.
“The Attorney General has directed senior federal prosecutors to evaluate certain issues raised in your letters,” Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd said.
“These senior prosecutors will report directly to the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General,” and will recommend further investigation if needed, he added.
Some experts claim that the deal was quid-pro-quo in nature because of the money that the Clintons received from Russian-linked sources before and after the deal.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says it is in possession of evidence that shows a Clinton charitable foundation has received millions of dollars in donations from Russia during Clinton’s time in office.
The Justice Department has already hired a special counsel to look into President Donald Trump’s possible ties to Russia. Trump has been encouraging Sessions to take action against Clinton, accusing her of colluding with Moscow.
The president has become more adamant in his push for a Clinton investigation over the past weeks.