Washington (CNN) Republican Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, blamed his investment firm for a purchase of thousands of dollars in defense stock and claimed he was unaware of the transaction at the time.

According to a Senate financial disclosure report, Inhofe listed a purchase of $50,000-$100,000 in stock in US defense contractor Raytheon, days after successfully pushing the Trump administration for more Defense Department spending. Inhofe's communications director said he canceled the transaction when he became aware of it.

Inhofe told CNN in an interview Thursday on Capitol Hill that he had "no saying in any of the investments that took place" by Capital Advisors, an Oklahoma-based investment management company.

The Oklahoma senator said he "intentionally" uses a third-party adviser "so I don't have any decision or any choice in what they invest in."

"And this way, in fact, I don't even know about it," Inhofe told CNN. "I don't even know what they invest in."

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