Sen. Angus King (I., Maine) said on Sunday there should be an investigation into the Obama-era Uranium One deal, remarking that he has been "trying to understanding" the deal.
CNN’s Jake Tapper asked King to respond to President Donald Trump’s comments that the Obama administration's so called Uranium One deal was the "watergate, modern age," and if he believes an investigation into the deal is necessary.
"One of the House committees has already begun an oversight committee hearing," King said. "I always think oversight hearings are appropriate. I’ve been trying to understand this deal."
The House Intelligence Committee is currently making inquiries into the deal amid questions that Russian bribery was involved, but the panel has not launched a formal investigation as of yet. The deal under scrutiny was approved by the Obama administration in 2010, and allowed for Russia to acquire a large uranium mine.
King also said there has been some discrepancy over the actual laws of uranium sale and removal from the United States.
"The company changed hands, but the uranium that is mined in the United States cannot leave the United States," King said. "So it wasn’t really the sale of uranium, it was the sale of a mining and manufacturing company."
The senator nevertheless recognized there are questions over the deal, and that "we need to get to the bottom of them."
"You have to find out the facts if there are questions raised," King said. "The House has already got something underway on that question; hopefully we can get it resolved and keep moving forward."