Republican lawmakers on Tuesday added to the already copious investigations swamping the US capital, announcing two new probes targeting Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
But Democrats quickly accused them of creating a “massive diversion” to distract from President Donald Trump’s troubles.
One of the new probes is demanding more clarity on how the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice decided during the height of last year’s White House race to not pursue charges against Clinton over her alleged misuse of a personal email server.
A second probe targets a 2013 decision by the Obama administration to approve the sale of a Canadian mining company Uranium One to Russian state-owned company Rosatom.
The move gave Rosatom control of 20 percent of US uranium stockpiles and was decided after Uranium One made several donations to the Clinton Foundation of former president Bill Clinton.
The probes, involving the House Judiciary, Oversight and Intelligence Committees, came as Republicans and President Donald Trump weather increasing pressure from the multiple investigations into how Russia may have aided Trump’s presidential campaign last year.
Announcing the Clinton-FBI probe, Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte and House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, both Republicans, stressed that Republicans cannot be the only targets of investigations.
“The law is the most equalizing force in this country. No entity or individual is exempt from oversight,” Goodlatte and Gowdy said in a statement.
Source: ( AFP )
