Intel: How White House efforts to sidestep Congress on Saudi nuclear deal are blowing up

The House Oversight Committee spoke with Donald Trump administration whistleblowers and released a report Tuesday detailing the White House’s efforts to give Congress the run-around in its determination to reach a civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia.

“The whistleblowers who came forward have expressed significant concerns about the potential procedural and legal violations connected with rushing through a plan to transfer nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia,” the report notes. “They have warned of conflicts of interest among top White House advisers that could implicate federal criminal statutes.”

Why it matters: The report raises renewed questions as to whether Trump intends to pursue a Saudi nuclear deal that would allow Riyadh to enrich uranium and reprocess plutonium on its territory — possible precursors to a nuclear weapons program.

Democrats released the report exactly a week after the president met with nuclear power developers to discuss exporting US nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The meeting was organized by IP3 International — the consulting group that first drafted the proposal in question. Former national security adviser Mike Flynn, who worked with IP3 International in 2016, pushed for the proposal at the time despite concerns from career National Security Council (NSC) staffers. After Flynn resigned, NSC Middle East director Derek Harvey aggressively pushed forward with the plan (Harvey now works for Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee).