Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Nominee may face conflicts of interest.
Biz conflicts may hurt secretary of state pick’s ability to tackle hot spots
WASHINGTON — As CEO of Exxon Mobil, Rex Tillerson has led a vast energy juggernaut, roaming the globe in search of multibillion-dollar deals.
The brash Texas oil man helped forge or supervise exploration, production and refinery projects in 50 countries on six continents. The company was widely seen as a quasi-state, with more influence in some parts of the world than the U.S. government.
If Tillerson is confirmed as Donald Trump’s secretary of state, however, he may find his 41-year career at the world’s largest publicly traded oil and gas company could hamper his ability to freely conduct foreign policy as America’s top diplomat.
A Senate confirmation fight already is brewing over Tillerson’s personal and business ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Few in Congress feel warmly about Putin, and many are outraged that CIA reports show Russia used hackers to try to influence the U.S. presidential race.
After several days of leaks from the transition team, Trump confirmed Tuesday that he will nominate Tillerson, saying the 64-yearold oil mogul’s career “is the embodiment of the American dream.”
To avoid direct conflicts of interest, Tillerson would be required to sell his $240 million in Exxon Mobil stock and other holdings. But he might also have to recuse himself from specific issues, experts say.
“Unless he severs all financial ties to Exxon Mobil, he will be required by law to recuse himself from everything relating not just to that business, but from all industries in which it operates — something that would make it very hard for him to do his job,” Norman Eisen and Richard Painter, who head Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said Tuesday in a statement.
“It may be that the appearance of conflict and the need for repeated recusals is so profound that the Senate concludes he cannot do the job,” Eisen and Painter said.
Tillerson’s Senate confirmation is far from assured. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he will ask Tillerson if he ever voiced criticism to Putin for his egregious human rights record at home and abroad, including most recently air attacks on hospitals and schools in Syria.
“I have concerns about what kind of business we do with a butcher, a murderer and a thug, which is exactly what Vladimir Putin is,” McCain said.
As Exxon Mobil’s CEO, Tillerson opposed the 2014 decision by the Obama administration and its European allies to impose sanctions on Russia for its seizure of Crimea from Ukraine.
The sanctions cost Exxon Mobil about $1 billion, according to company reports, because projects had to be scrapped.
In 2011, Exxon Mobil had signed a deal with Russia’s largest state-owned oil company, Rosneft, for joint exploration and production in hard-to-reach territory north of the Arctic Circle.
Rosneft and its CEO, Igor Sechin, considered Putin’s right-hand-man and someone with whom Tillerson worked closely, were specifically blacklisted by the Western sanctions.
In 2012, Putin bestowed Russia’s Order of Friendship on Tillerson, a rare prize for a U.S. citizen.
The Tillerson “appointment is very beneficial for Putin,” said Vladimir Milov, Russia’s former deputy energy minister and an opposition leader. “It will mean the end of values of the American foreign policy vector and a transfer to purely pragmatic deals on certain matters.”
On Tuesday, Russia was the first country to praise Tillerson, saying he exhibited a “pragmatism” that would permit “a mutually beneficial relationship” between Moscow and Washington.
Other plaudits came from parts of the Middle East, where Tillerson is well known among Gulf royalty.
In Saudi Arabia, Exxon Mobil has multi-billion-dollar investments in refineries and chemical companies with Aramco, the Saudi oil conglomerate founded by Exxon and considered the world’s most valuable company, worth an estimated $10 trillion.
The last business leader of Tillerson’s level to serve as secretary of state was George Shultz, who Ronald Reagan picked in 1980. Shultz headed Bechtel Corp., a San Franciscobased construction and civil engineering company with projects around the world.
Shultz signed a pledge not to participate in any decision that would affect Bechtel operations and divested himself of most investments in Bechtel, placing the proceeds in a blind trust.
Tillerson also is expected to face sharp questioning over his views on climate change, clean energy and the Paris Agreement to slow global warming. Environmentalists and consumer advocates said they fear Tillerson will help lead policy away from curbing emissions to broader use of fossil fuels.
Tillerson was paid $27.3 million in compensation in 2015. His pension was valued at $69.6 million.