Probes Open Into FBI's Handling on Uranium Deal, Email Server

House Intelligence Committee members said Tuesday they'll begin investigating how President Barack Obama's Justice Department handled a deal giving a company owned by the Russian government control over 20 percent of the United States' uranium supply and an investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.

Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-California, told reporters his panel has "been looking into this for some time," with key committee member Rep. Peter King, R-NY, explaining how the deal was being examined as far back as 2010, reports The Washington Post.

However, the committee decided to start its inquiry following a report in The Hill that stated the FBI was investigating Russia and the United States' nuclear industry, and were watching as Russia was working to win access to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, and their inner circle.

In addition, President Donald Trump has continued a barrage of complaints about Clinton's involvement in the deal, along with complaints that the mainstream media was not covering the matter, bringing the issue into focus once again.

King told reporters that back in 2010, when he was the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee, he and three other ranking members sent a letter to the Treasury Department, asking why a Russian-owned company would be allowed access to the nation's uranium supply.

"I got a letter in response from Treasury Secretary [Tim] Geithner, saying this was getting full scrutiny," said King. "It was brought to the highest levels of the Obama administration, including the Treasury Secretary, so it's important that we find out why that deal went through, certainly in view of recent allegations and questions, and it's important this inquiry goes forward."

"Seven years ago this month, I raised these objections with the treasury secretary who said they were being fully investigated and we want to see what happened to that inquiry," said King.

Clinton was not mentioned during the press conference as part of the Russia investigation. Instead, Nunes said the first goal for the investigation, being conducted by the Intelligence Committee and the  House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was to find if the FBI had opened an investigation.

In 2009, the state-owned Russian nuclear company Rosatom started buying shares and then sought to assume a majority ownership in Uranium One, a Toronto, Canada-based industry with United States interests.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) approved the deal, and Russia later took over Uranium One. Clinton, as secretary of state, headed one of the nine government agencies making up CFIUS.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the email server will focus on why former FBI Director James Comey announced it was investigating Clinton, but waited for several months to say it had a similar announcement concerning inquiries into President Donald Trump, The Post reported.

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