House committees open probe into Obama-era uranium deal, timing of Clinton Foundation donation

A pair of House committees are opening a probe into a uranium deal involving a Russian company approved during the Obama administration.

A confidential informant came forward, sparking the House intelligence and oversight committees to look at whether there was an FBI investigation into the deal, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said Tuesday.

“It’s important that we find out why that deal went through and certainly in view of recent allegations and questions it’s important this inquiry goes forward,” said Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.).

The probe, announced by King, Nunes and Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), is looking at whether there was a conflict of interest because of accusations that Russians funneled money into the Clinton Foundation during the time of the deal. Hillary Clinton was secretary of state at the time.

The Hill reported last week that the FBI had been gathering information about Russian nuclear officials engaging in bribery and spying schemes ahead of the deal.

President Trump has repeatedly called for an investigation into the deal and has called it the “real Russia story.”

Trump’s presidency has been haunted by a series of Congressional and federal probes into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election and whether anyone in the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow to sway the results.

Clinton has said that she was not involved in the deal and told C-SPAN the controversy surrounding the 2010 exchange is “baloney.”

Nunes, who said in April he was stepping back, but not recusing himself from the House probe into the election meddling after visiting the White House to brief the President on early findings, bristled when questioned on Tuesday.

While referring reporters to his April statement, he also said he wished reporters would “stop referring to” it.

He added that he and others have not been in touch with anyone at the White House about the uranium probe.

“So our committee has been looking into this for a while now. We have been in touch with different individuals who have brought us information,” he said added.