US Approves Sales Of Nuclear Tech To Saudi Arabia

The Daily Beast reports:

The U.S. Department of Energy has approved six authorizations for U.S. companies seeking to conduct nuclear related work in Saudi Arabia, according to two sources with knowledge of those approvals. Federal law stipulates that companies obtain clearance from the U.S. government for exporting nuclear technology to or engaging in the production or development of special nuclear material in Saudi Arabia.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other members of the Saudi government in Riyadh last month. Sources told The Daily Beast that members of the U.S. embassy in Riyadh were essentially shut out of those conversations, raising concern by Democratic lawmakers that Kushner and MBS had discussed a nuclear deal with minimal oversight.

The New York Times reports:

In late October 2017, Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser, dropped into Saudi Arabia for an unannounced visit to the desert retreat of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was in the process of consolidating his power. The two men talked privately late into the night.

Just a day earlier, Mr. Kushner’s younger brother, Josh, then 32, was flying out of the kingdom. Jared came to talk policy, but Josh was there on business. As others sat through speeches in a gilded conference hall, several participants said, the younger Mr. Kushner frequently ducked out for more exclusive conversations with Saudi officials.

Two people who spoke with Josh Kushner at the conference said he had been actively promoting a health insurance start-up he founded in 2012, Oscar Health, which five months later announced a fresh $165 million round of financing.