Intel Dem: Uranium One probe is an ‘orchestrated’ distraction

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, claimed Wednesday that the new probes of the Obama-era Uranium One deal and the FBI’s investigation into the Clinton email server are part of a Republican effort to distract from the ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

“So this is a partisan effort to distract. It’s a partisan effort aligned with what the White House has been urging, and Fox and Breitbart,” Schiff said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”

{mosads}The Republican leaders of the Judiciary, Intelligence and Oversight and Government Reform committees announced Tuesday they will jointly investigate the matters that took place when Hillary Clinton served as secretary of State.

“There are three committees involved in these new investigations: Judiciary Committee, Government Reform Committee and the Intelligence Committee. This had to be orchestrated with the approval of the Speaker of the House,” Schiff continued.

The California lawmaker said the Republicans ultimately made the decision to open the new Clinton-connected inquiries without “consultation with the Democrats in Congress.”

“You can’t do a good investigation if it’s conducted in bad faith,” he added.

Schiff’s remarks come in response to the decision of the House Intelligence chair, Rep. Devin Nunes (D-Calif.), to look into how the Justice Department handled the deal that gave a Russian-owned company partial control of U.S. atomic energy resources in 2010.

The Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees will also jointly investigate the Obama Justice Department’s handling of the Clinton email investigation. 

The seemingly coordinated investigations — both of which were announced within the same hour — come as special counsel Robert Mueller and several congressional panels are looking into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin during the 2016 election.