Hillary Clinton deserves being tried for treason and potentially executed, according to Sebastian Gorka, President Trump’s former deputy assistant.

Mr. Gorka made the comment during an interview Thursday evening with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity as the two discussed Mrs. Clinton’s role authorizing the sale of Canadian mining firm Uranium One to Russian state-owned nuclear company Rosatom while serving as the Obama administration’s secretary of state.

“The Russians infiltrated our national security to corner the uranium market and they succeeded, and they knew all the crimes that were committed,” Mr. Hannity said during the broadcast.

“If this had happened in the 1950s, there would be people up on treason charges right now. The Rosenbergs, OK? This is equivalent to what the Rosenbergs did and those people got the chair. Think about it. Giving away nuclear capability to our enemies, that’s what we’re talking about,” Mr. Gorka responded.

Married couple Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of espionage in 1951 for giving nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union and were executed by electric chair two years later.

Mr. Gorka, 47, served as deputy assistant to the president from January until August. Mr. Gorka has insisted he resigned from that role, but the the Trump administration has categorized his departure otherwise.

“Sebastian Gorka did not resign, but I can confirm he is no longer with the White House,” an administration official said at the time of his exit.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Friday afternoon that the administration believes “there’s a lot of cause for concern” regarding the Uranium One deal but declined to comment specifically on Mr. Gorka’s remarks.

Michael McFaul, the Obama administration’s ambassador to Russia from 2012-2014, was among those perturbed by Mr. Gorka advocating for executing Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Trump’s former presidential campaign rival.

“This is disgusting,” Mr. McFaul tweeted Thursday alongside a video of Mr. Gorka’s remarks. “Amazing to remember that this man recently worked in the White House.”

House Republicans announced earlier this week that the Intelligence and Oversight Committees are launching a joint-investigation into the 2010 Uranium One deal. California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the probe was “initiated on a partisan basis” and “designed to distract attention” away from the congressional investigations focused on Russia’s alleged involvement in Mr. Trump’s election.

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