Bomb scare

It’s not the first time the Trump administration has been accused of putting the interests of a foreign dictatorship ahead of those of the United States. But another autocracy is at the center of the latest suspicions.

Even as the FBI’s concerns about President Trump’s Russia entanglements were being revealed in more detail, a House committee announced an inquiry into the administration’s relationship with Saudi Arabia. A preliminary report issued by House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., cites “multiple whistle-blowers” warning of White House efforts “to rush the transfer of highly sensitive U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia in potential violation of the Atomic Energy Act ... efforts that may be ongoing to this day.”

Disgraced national security adviser Michael Flynn and other ranking officials championed plans to allow American companies to build nuclear plants in the kingdom, according to the report, despite Saudi Arabia’s long-standing rejection of standards that prevent the technology from being used for weapons.

While oversight committee Republicans distanced themselves from Cummings’ report, several Republican senators have warned the administration against transferring nuclear technology to the Saudis.

The Saudis’ penchant for buying apartments and hotel rooms from Trump has endeared them to him, and his son-in-law and consigliere, Jared Kushner, has enjoyed warm relations with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Kushner was also rescued from a bad New York real estate deal by one of the companies that could benefit from a nuclear boom.

The administration’s special affinity for the kingdom has been evident in its eagerness to absolve the prince of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing. The nuclear push shows how such misplaced loyalties could do further harm to national and global security.