Politics

Uranium One Scandal Is ‘Watergate Modern Age,’ Trump Says

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Alex Pfeiffer White House Correspondent
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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump compared an Obama era deal that gave a Russian company control of 20 percent of America’s uranium to the Watergate scandal that led to Richard Nixon’s resignation.

“The uranium sale to Russia and the way it was done, so underhanded… That’s Watergate, modern wage,” Trump told reporters Wednesday about the deal.

The Hill reported last week that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was aware of Russian nuclear industry efforts to use bribery in order to get the Obama administration to approve a purchase of a Canadian company that controls 20 percent of the US’ uranium supply.

The Clinton Foundation received millions from the chairman of Uranium One, the Russian company that bought the Canadian firm, and former President Bill Clinton gave a speech in exchange for $500,000 from a Kremlin-linked bank.

The Uranium One deal was approved by a committee in 2010 that included a representative from the State Department, which Clinton headed at the time.

House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes announced a probe into the uranium deal Tuesday and Senate Judiciary Committee Chuck Grassley called for  special counsel to investigate the deal.