If you’ve paid attention to the news lately, you’ve likely heard a lot about something called the Uranium One deal. There has been a good deal of misinformation distributed about this alleged conspiracy. Below, we’ll get to facts of the matter.
What is Uranium One?
Uranium One is a Canadian uranium mining corporation that has operations in the United States and around the world. In 2013, Russian state-owned nuclear fuel company, Rosatom, purchased a controlling interest in Uranium One.
Deals involving nuclear materials, in this case Uranium, fall under national security exceptions. Business deals that involve things like this are subject to approval by Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS. CFIUS is made up of representatives from numerous federal departments including Defense, Homeland Security, Treasury, Justice and Commerce. CFIUS approves or denies relevant business deals based on their national security implications.
What’s the Controversy?
Critics pushing the deal as a scandal allege that nine people involved with Uranium One donated $140 million to the Clinton Foundation. Therefore, in return, Secretary Clinton approved the deal.
