THE URANIUM ONE DEAL
THE DEAL:
The Russian state-led company Rosatom acquired a majority stake in Uranium One in 2010 and bought the remainder of the company in 2013. Because Uranium One had holdings in American uranium mines, which at the time accounted for about 20 percent of America's licensed uranium mining capacity, Rosatom's 2010 purchase had to be approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
That committee, known as CFIUS, is made up of officials from nine federal agencies, including the State Department, which Clinton ran at the time. Other agencies represented on the committee include the departments of Treasury, Defense, Commerce, Energy and Homeland Security and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
THE ALLEGATIONS:
President Donald Trump and his supporters have accused Clinton of overseeing the sale of 20 percent of America's uranium supply to Russia, and have highlighted it as a way to deflect unsubstantiated charges that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 presidential election. Allegations have also been made that the approval of the sale of Uranium One benefited major donors to the Clinton Foundation, raising conflict-of-interest questions.
The matter took on new life after the FBI began investigating possible Russian attempts to influence the U.S. nuclear sector at the time CFIUS was considering the sale of Uranium One to Rosatom. The report said members of the committee, including Clinton, should have known about the investigation and it questioned why they would have approved it.
THE FACTS:
The deal did not sell 20 per cent of America's uranium to Russia, but Uranium One did control 20 per cent of the country's licensed uranium mining capacity. Without a specific license to export uranium from Uranium One's mines, which it did not have at the time, Rosatom would not be able to send it to Russia or elsewhere.
Clinton has said she had nothing to do with the CFIUS approval. As secretary of state she technically had a seat on the panel. But most other cabinet-level members have delegated such responsibilities to less senior officials.
The alleged relationship between the approval of the sale and the Clinton Foundation was first raised in 2015 by author Peter Schweizer in the book 'Clinton Cash.' He and others have pointed to some of the investors in the deal and their ties to former President Bill Clinton and his foundation.
In April 2015, The New York Times published an article establishing that not long after the Russians said they wanted to acquire a majority stake in Uranium One, Bill Clinton received $500,000 for a speech in Moscow, which was paid for by a Russian investment bank with links to the Kremlin as it promoted Uranium One stock.
Canadian financier Frank Giustra, a top Clinton Foundation donor, sold his company, UrAsia, to Uranium One, which was chaired by Ian Telfer, also a Clinton Foundation donor.
Telfer used his family foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million to the Clinton Foundation between 2009 and 2013. Giustra donated $31.3 million in 2006.
Originally Posted by devidee
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