American Oversight Sues DOJ Over Decision to Reopen Uranium One Investigation

American Oversight today sued the Department of Justice (DOJ) to uncover the facts behind Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to reopen an investigation into Uranium One and Hillary Clinton.

President Trump has repeatedly advocated using DOJ as a tool to investigate his political enemies, particularly Hillary Clinton, his opponent in the 2016 presidential election. On several occasions, Trump has tweeted explicit calls for DOJ to open investigations into Clinton and her former staff.

Crooked Hillary Clinton’s top aid, Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents. Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018

See our full investigation of the Trump administration’s attempts to politicize the Justice Department.

One allegation regarding Clinton that arose during the 2016 campaign was that she allegedly exercised inappropriate influence on the federal government’s 2010 approval of the acquisition of American uranium mining company Uranium One by Rosatom, the Russian nuclear energy agency. In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, DOJ indicated that Sessions had directed senior prosecutors to look into the Uranium One deal and to make a recommendation as to whether a second special counsel should be appointed to investigate Clinton. The letter does not address how Sessions’ participation in this matter was consistent with his recusal from all matters related to the 2016 presidential campaign.

American Oversight’s new lawsuit asks the court to compel DOJ to comply with a series of Freedom of Information Act requests seeking records regarding Attorney General Sessions’ recusal from election-related matters, the directions given to the DOJ prosecutors looking into the Uranium One matter, and materials related to the drafting of the letter sent to Congressman Robert Goodlatte.

Today, American Oversight also submitted follow-up FOIA requests related to Uranium One seeking additional communications between the Office of the Attorney General and Congress and records related to Attorney General Sessions’ role in the investigation.