Judicial Watch demands details of Russia's influence on Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama at the White House (HillaryClinton.com)

A lawsuit has been filed against the departments of Justice and State to discover what influence Russia had on Hillary Clinton when she was U.S. secretary of state under Barack Obama and Russian interests gave her foundation $140 million.

The contributions came as she provided a key vote as a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States that allowed a Russia state-owned nuclear firm, Rosatom, to obtain control of 20 percent of America's uranium production capacity.

The lawsuit by Judicial Watch comes on the heels of decisions by the two departments not to make details public.

Judicial Watch said it sued when the Justice Department declined to provide "records regarding, the company Uranium One (otherwise known as Uranium One, Inc. or SXR Uranium One, Inc.), including records of communication sent to and from officials in the offices of the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, and the National Security Division from January 20, 2009 through December 31, 2013."

The State Department, at the same time, declined to provide records relating Uranium One, including communication sent to and from "officials in the Office of the Secretary of State, Office of the Legal Advisor, Office of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, Office of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, Office of International Security and Nonproliferation, and the Office of Political-Military Affairs from January 20, 2009 through December 31, 2013."

The move comes as part of Judicial Watch's effort to reveal the details of the "highly controversial 2010 Uranium One deal."

"A Russia state-owned nuclear firm, Rosatom, sought to buy Uranium One, a Canadian mining company. Because Uranium One held licenses for 20 percent of America's uranium production capacity, the sale had to be approved by the nine members of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who assented to the transaction. Uranium One interests contributed more than $140 million to the Clinton Foundation," Judicial Watch pointed out.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said it's "simply remarkable that Judicial Watch had to sue the State and Justice Departments in federal court for basic information about the shady Uranium One deal."

"It seems Judicial Watch has done more to investigate the Clinton-Russia connections than the Justice Department, even as DOJ resources are spent on supporting [special counsel Robert] Mueller's massive investigation into the fanciful Clinton dossier-inspired Trump-Russia conspiracy theory. We hope the Uranium One cover-up ends thanks to these lawsuits," Fitton said.

The Washington watchdog group cited a 2013 New York Times report that the Clinton Foundation hid many of the beneficiaries of the Uranium One deal approved by CFIUS and Hillary Clinton.

For example, as "the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation. Uranium One's chairman used his family foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million. Those contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clintons, despite an agreement Mrs. Clinton struck with the Obama White House to publicly identify all donors. Other people with ties to the company made donations as well," Judicial Watch said.

Only a short time after the Russians announced plans to acquire Uranium One, Bill Clinton was paid $500,000 for a Moscow speech by a company with Kremlin links that was promoting Uranium One stock.

Prior to the Uranium One deal, the FBI reportedly "had gathered substantial evidence that Russian nuclear industry officials were engaged in bribery, kickbacks, extortion and money laundering designed to grow Vladimir Putin's atomic energy business inside the United States, according to government documents and interviews," the Judicial Watch report said.

"Rather than bring immediate charges in 2010, however, the Department of Justice (DOJ) continued investigating the matter for nearly four more years, essentially leaving the American public and Congress in the dark about Russian nuclear corruption on U.S. soil during a period when the Obama administration made two major decisions benefiting Putin’s commercial nuclear ambitions."

The footprints are suspicious all along the route, Judicial Watch said: "Then-Attorney General Eric Holder was among the Obama administration officials joining Hillary Clinton on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States at the time the Uranium One deal was approved. Multiple current and former government officials told The Hill they did not know whether the FBI or DOJ ever alerted committee members to the criminal activity they uncovered. The investigation was ultimately supervised by then-U.S. Attorney Rob Rosenstein, an Obama appointee who now serves as President Trump’s deputy attorney general, and then-Assistant FBI Director Andrew McCabe …"

Ten years ago, the watchdog group found Bill Clinton had helped Vancouver mining mogul Frank Giustra secure tens of millions of dollars' worth of uranium.

"Guistra built a company that became part of Uranium One. The Clinton Foundation later received a $31.3 million donation, as well as a future pledge of $100 million," the watchdog said.