Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers had ties to Saudi companies, including one with nuclear ambitions.

Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers was linked to several Saudi companies from which he personally profited after leaving Congress in 2015, including a company with questionable nuclear ambitions.

These connections include his involvement with telecommunications company Telefonica and nuclear technology company IP3 International, both of which have close ties to Saudi Arabia.

For the past seven years, Rogers has been a Member of the Technical and Security Advisory Committee of Telefonica, a company in which Acquisition of Saudi Telecom a 10 percent stake worth $2.25 billion, making it the largest shareholder.

Rogers also held a position on the board of IP3 International and its subsidiary Allied Nuclear, according to his Financial Disclosures submitted last December.

In 2019 IP3 requested the approval of the Trump administration transfer nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia without adhering to a “gold standard” agreement that normally includes safeguards against uranium enrichment. Industry leaders raised concerns about IP3’s reputation and its approach to nuclear fuel enrichment, viewing these as potential red flags.

“Representatives of other nuclear industry companies had serious concerns about IP3 and its financial motives in pushing for the transfer of American nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. They called it a ‘wasteful effort,’ warned that ‘IP3 has a questionable reputation,’ and noted, ‘This whole IP3 effort is still a bit strange and mysterious,'” a congressional staffer explained in the Second interim report of the House of Representatives in July 2019. “One industry executive called IP3 the ‘Theranos of the nuclear industry.'”

According to sources familiar with IP3’s activities, an internal email revealed that former national security officials, including Rogers, were promised $1 million for each nuclear reactor sold to Saudi Arabia.

“A senior political official said the proposal was ‘not a business plan’ but rather ‘a plan for these generals to make money.’ This official said, ‘Okay, you know we can’t do that,'” said a Report of the House Oversight Committee noted in February 2019.

Rogers also has a history of supporting Chinese business interests, despite its Anti-China rhetoric of the campaignDuring his 14 years in Congress, Rogers opposed trade restrictions with China, notably opposing a 2005 bill that would have permanently ended normal trade relations with the country.

Rogers also benefited financially from his ties to China. He worked as a risk analyst for Nokia and earned significant amounts while the company expanded its business with Chinese technology giant Huawei, despite US sanctions against Huawei on national security grounds. He stayed with Nokia despite these deals, contradicting his earlier warnings about Huawei.

The former congressman is running again for the vacant seat in the The US Senate in Michigan has now passed a approval by former President Donald Trump.