Hillary Clinton sold 20 percent of US uranium to Russia
| Hillary Clinton sold 20 percent of US uranium to Russia | |
|---|---|
| MISLEADING | |
| "As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton approved the sale of 20 percent of America's uranium to Russia in exchange for donations to the Clinton Foundation." | |
| Domain | Government, Law & Courts |
| Tactic | False Context Conspiracy Theory |
| Era | Current |
| First seen | 2015 |
| Origin | Peter Schweizer's 2015 book Clinton Cash and a related New York Times report, later repeated by Donald Trump and others |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-29 |
| Further reading: books on Government, Law & Courts | |
In 2010, Russia's state nuclear company Rosatom acquired a majority stake in Uranium One, a Canadian company with uranium mining interests in the United States. The deal needed approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a panel of nine agencies that included the State Department. Investors connected to Uranium One had donated to the Clinton Foundation. The claim that Clinton personally "sold" a fifth of US uranium to Russia overstates both her role and what was sold.
The claim
The story holds that Clinton approved the deal to reward donors and that Russia gained control of a large share of America's uranium.
What the evidence shows
- Not her decision alone. CFIUS approval involved nine agencies, including Treasury, Defense, Justice and Homeland Security. Nuclear regulators and the state of Utah also reviewed the deal. The State Department's representative said Clinton did not intervene.
- Capacity, not uranium. Uranium One held licenses accounting for about 20 percent of US uranium production capacity. Actual production was smaller, and the deal did not grant licenses to export uranium from the United States.
- Donations. Most of the large donations from people connected to the company came before Clinton became secretary of state. No investigation has found that donations influenced the decision.
- Fair questions. The New York Times found the Clinton Foundation failed to disclose some donations as it had promised, a real issue about transparency.
Sources
- The New York Times, "Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation Amid Russian Uranium Deal," April 23, 2015.
- FactCheck.org, "The Facts on Uranium One," October 2017.