The Justice Department might reopen an investigation involving Hillary Clinton, and the timing is suspicious

President Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of Hillary Clinton ever since last year’s presidential campaign, arguing that she should be investigated for criminal activity. And on December 21st, NBC reported that Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked FBI agents for information on the controversial Uranium One deal made during Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state. Sessions will reportedly use this information to determine whether or not to reopen the investigation.

The Uranium One deal refers to the 2010 sale of U.S. uranium mining facilities to Russia’s national atomic energy company. The deal was approved while Clinton was secretary of state, and nine government agencies — including the Department of State — had to sign off on the transaction in order for it to pass. The deal is known as Uranium One because of the name of the Russian company involved.

Clinton and her husband, President Bill Clinton, were accused of corruption when it was revealed that Uranium One employees donated money to the Clinton Foundation. Clinton has denied that she approved the deal, however, saying that a lower level of the department signed it.

Trump and other Republicans have long cited the Uranium One deal as evidence of corruption in the FBI and justice Department. Trump tweeted about the deal in October, implying that the media was showing preferential treatment toward Clinton by not covering the deal. In a separate tweet thread 10 days later, he wrote that the FBI should be investigating Clinton’s connection to Uranium One instead of his campaign’s connections to Russia.

https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/920972261032648705

https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/924637600094326784

Sessions hinted at reopening the investigation in November. In a letter to House Republicans, one of Sessions’ deputies wrote that Sessions had ordered federal prosecutors to look into the deal.

The FBI has already examined this transaction and found that there was not enough evidence against Clinton to build a case. Now, Trump and his allies have demanded a second investigation, even though the FBI cleared Clinton of wrongdoing. This new investigation seems like another attempt to discredit Clinton and distract from the investigation into Trump himself. We can only hope that Sessions will realize that an formerly closed case is not worth pursuing.