Rex Tillerson Confirmation Hearing Reveals ExxonMobil-Russia Conflicts and Sanctions Violations

Rex Tillerson, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, faced aggressive Senate questioning about massive conflicts of interest stemming from his 41-year career at ExxonMobil, particularly the company’s extensive Russia dealings and opposition to sanctions. Tillerson had served as ExxonMobil CEO from 2006-2016 and negotiated a $600 million deal in 2011 with Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft to exploit Russian shale oil reserves.

Government lobbying records directly contradicted Tillerson’s testimony that he “never lobbied against sanctions.” Records show ExxonMobil paid the Nickles Group $193,000 in 2014-2015 specifically to lobby on “issues related to Russian sanctions impacting the energy sector,” and paid Avenue Solutions another $120,000 for work on “energy sanctions in the Ukraine and Russia.” These lobbying efforts came as Tillerson personally opposed sanctions against Russia for annexing Crimea and invading Ukraine.

Most significantly, ExxonMobil under Tillerson violated U.S. sanctions in May 2014 by signing contracts with Igor Sechin, chairman of Rosneft, who had been explicitly blacklisted as part of U.S. sanctions for Russia’s actions in Ukraine. The Treasury Department would later fine ExxonMobil $2 million in 2017 for showing “reckless disregard” for sanctions, stating the company knew Sechin was sanctioned but proceeded anyway.

Tillerson promised to “recuse myself from issues involving ExxonMobil” if confirmed, but this recusal was meaningless given his nomination’s entire purpose was leveraging his Russia relationships for Trump’s benefit. Tillerson had received Russia’s Order of Friendship medal from Vladimir Putin in 2013, demonstrating the personal relationship Trump sought to exploit for geopolitical gain.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Tillerson on a strict party-line vote of 11-10 on January 23, 2017, and the full Senate confirmed him as Secretary of State on February 1, 2017, installing an oil executive with active business interests in Russian sanctions policy at the helm of American foreign policy.