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WASHINGTON – House Democrats announced Tuesday the opening of an in-depth investigation into the White House's involvement in a nuclear power plant construction project in Saudi Arabia, citing whistleblowers according to which government officials would have ignored warnings that conflicts of interest could put America's security at risk.
In a 24-page report from the House's Monitoring and Reform Committee, Democrats said their concerns centered on the measures taken in the first few weeks of the Trump government to gain government support for the government. a project to build a series of nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia. But they said that there was evidence up until last week that the White House was still considering the proposal.
Whistleblower claims and White House documents obtained by the committee show that the company supporting the nuclear plan, IP3 International and the White House allies were working so closely that the company sent a project A memorandum to Michael T. Flynn, Trump's former national security advisor, is to be distributed just days after the inauguration. Mr Flynn had been working on the IP3 plan during the Trump campaign and transition, Democrats said, and continued to advocate for this project at the White House.
Even after Flynn's departure from the White House in February 2017, representatives of the National Security Council lobbied, Democrats said, ignoring the advice of the CNS's ethics counselor and other defense lawyers. stop all work on the plan due to potentially illegal conflicts. .
The draft note also referred to another close associate of Trump, Thomas J. Barrack, who chaired the president's inaugural committee. He said Trump had appointed Barrack as a special representative to implement the plan, which he called "the Marshall Plan for the Middle East". The memo also asked the agencies to support Barrack's efforts.
The Democrats' inquiry comes at a delicate time when lawmakers in both parties are appalled by the Trump administration's reluctance to punish Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Saudi government after the murder of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi. As supporters of the nuclear deal maneuvered at the opening days of the Trump White House, President's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, orchestrated what would be Mr. Trump's first overseas trip as president, in Saudi Arabia. with the then Deputy Crown Prince, Mr. bin Salman, before the prince became the power behind the Saudi throne.
At a meeting in March 2017, a National Security Council aide tried to revive the IP3 plan "so that Jared Kushner can present it to the president for approval," says the Democrat report. Kushner is scheduled to visit the region next week to brief diplomats on the economic aspects of the Trump government's peace plan for the Middle East.
Representative Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, Chair of the Oversight Committee, one of the whistleblowers in November 2017, and asked the Republican chairman of the committee at the time to review them more closely. Republicans did not touch it. On Tuesday, after presenting a more detailed calendar of events, Mr. Cummings said that he was now able to do this job himself.
"Further investigation is needed to determine whether the actions pursued by the Trump administration are in the interest of US national security or, on the contrary, serve those who could derive financial benefit from it. because of this potential change in US foreign policy, "Cummings' staff wrote in the report.
The export of US nuclear technology that could be used to create nuclear weapons is strictly controlled by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. The law states that Congress must approve such exports and at least one whistleblowers claimed that the officials involved had ignored the warnings. about these legal requirements.
A plan similar to that recommended by IP3 International has not yet been implemented. But Cummings' staff said there was evidence that the White House was still challenging the proposal.
Mr Trump met with leaders of the nuclear industry at the White House last week to discuss expanding their presence internationally, including in the Middle East. Bloomberg announced that the session had been organized by Jack Keane, retired General of the retired four – star army and one of the co – founders of IP3 International.
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