Story highlights There are two separate investigations launched by House oversight Tuesday

One involves the Justice Department and one involves a uranium deal

(CNN) House Republicans are launching an investigation into Russia and an Obama-era uranium deal, the intelligence committee's chairman announced Tuesday.

Rep. Devin Nunes said at a news conference that his committee and the House oversight committee are launching the joint investigation into the uranium deal, whether there was an FBI investigation into the matter and, if so, why Congress wasn't informed.

The Republican-led probe from Nunes and oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy of South Carolina concerns a 2010 uranium deal that was struck between the US and Russia while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state. President Donald Trump and other Republicans have accused the Russian uranium company of donating to the Clinton Foundation in an effort to sway Clinton to sign off on the deal, though the allegations are unproven. Hillary Clinton said in an interview with C-SPAN this past week that the accusations were "baloney" and that it had been "debunked repeatedly."

The new investigation by Nunes and Gowdy is sure to further inflame the simmering partisan tensions on the intelligence committee over the investigation into Russian election interference.

Nunes, along with intelligence committee member Rep. Peter King of New York and oversight's Rep. Ron DeSantis of Florida, held a news conference announcing the joint uranium probe only minutes after the House oversight and House judiciary committees said they were undertaking a separate joint investigation into how the Justice Department handled several issues relating to last year's election.

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