Congressional report: Trump adviser used White House connection to promote Saudi nuclear project

Investor Thomas Barrack, one of President Trump's close advisers, used this connection to push the White House to support a nuclear power project backed by Saudi Arabia, according to a new report released Monday by Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

Barrack also lobbied the White House to freely transfer sensitive nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, the report says, while promoting the interests of U.S. companies trying to profit from the move and taking steps to ensure his own firm, Colony NorthStar, could benefit. He additionally sought several positions in the Trump administration, including ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.

Investigators gathered tens of thousands of pages of documents, which the report said "show the administration's willingness to let private parties with close ties to the president wield outsized influence over U.S. policy towards Saudi Arabia. These new documents raise serious questions about whether the White House is willing to place the potential profits of the president's friends above the national security of the American people and the universal objective of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons."

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Republicans on the House Oversight Committee issued a minority report saying there is no evidence the administration hurried to transfer sensitive nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. Lawmakers on both sides have said it could be disastrous if nuclear technology is transferred to Saudi Arabia from the U.S. without the right safeguards in place.