Intel: White House refuses to detail secretive Saudi nuclear talks to government watchdog

The Donald Trump administration refused to disclose significant details of its secretive talks to help Saudi Arabia establish a civil nuclear program, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released on Monday.

While the report found that the Saudi nuclear talks are currently stalled, it also notes that neither the White House, State Department nor Energy Department “provided substantive information” to the GAO on the negotiations — a source of bipartisan concern in Congress. The report also notes that the State Department “did not respond to our repeated requests for assistance in facilitating travel to Saudi Arabia and interviews with relevant Saudi officials.” (Saudi Arabia’s envoy to the United States, Princess Reema bint Bandar, also ignored the GAO’s query.)

“We requested this study because of concerns regarding how the United States has been engaging the Saudi government on nuclear cooperation,” said Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in a joint statement. “We remain, however, deeply concerned about the lack of interagency coordination and how it might lead to an agreement without proper safeguards to prevent nuclear proliferation.”  

Why it matters:  Lawmakers and nonproliferation experts fear that the Trump administration may sign onto an agreement with Saudi Arabia that would allow it to enrich uranium and reprocess plutonium on its territory — precursors to a possible nuclear weapons program.