Schumer Floor Remarks: Either Rex Tillerson Was Not Honest About SEC Inquiries Into Exxon’s Business Dealings with Foreign State Sponsors of Terrorism, Or He Had No Knowledge Of Consequential Financial Disclosures Made By His Own Company
“As the head of Exxon, Mr. Tillerson did business with the terrorism trifecta: Iran, Syria, and the Sudan.”
“I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. But it gives me great concern that Mr. Tillerson says he has zero recollection of an SEC inquiry into his company’s business dealings with foreign state sponsors of terrorism.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today spoke on the Senate floor about the troubling reports indicating Rex Tillerson, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, did not disclose his knowledge of SEC inquiries into Exxon’s business dealings under his leadership. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:
Mr. President, yesterday I came to the floor to voice my serious concerns with some of the remarks made by the Secretary of State nominee, Rex Tillerson, in his hearing.
I was worried that his milquetoast posture towards Russia, especially his failure to support strong U.S. sanctions – existing or proposed – bespoke a fundamental misreading of the geopolitical climate and the true nature of our international security challenges.
I was worried that, as Secretary of State, he only promised to recuse himself from matters involving Exxon for a period of 12 months. Exxon’s interests overseas aren’t going away after one year. That’s not good enough to resolve the potentially massive conflicts-of-interest.
And I am most worried, Mr. President, that Mr. Tillerson, as CEO and Chairman of Exxon Mobile, conducted business with all three foreign state sponsors of terrorism through a foreign subsidiary in a way that allowed Exxon to evade U.S. sanctions.
As the head of Exxon, Mr. Tillerson did business with the terrorism trifecta: Iran, Syria, and the Sudan.
It raises serious questions that the man who is nominated to be the face of the United States to the world has so much experience doing business with our most prominent and concerning adversaries.
At the hearing, under questioning from the Senior Senator from New Jersey and the Senator from Oregon, Mr. Tillerson denied having knowledge of these dealings and directed the Senators to seek more information from Exxon Mobile itself. Three times he told the committee that QUOTE -- “he did not recall” -- any of the details.
Throughout the afternoon, it sounded like he was following the Dodgeball rules for confirmation hearings: dodge, dip, duck, dive…and dodge. In fact, he basically admitted it to the junior Senator from Virginia.
Now, I just read in the Washington Post that, on three separate occasions, the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) wrote letters directed to Mr. Tillerson himself seeking more information on these undisclosed dealings during his tenure as CEO and Chairman:
· Once on January 6, 2006;
· Once on May 4, 2006;
· And again on December 1, 2010.
Mr. President, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. But it gives me great concern that Mr. Tillerson says he has zero recollection of an SEC inquiry into his company’s business dealings with foreign state sponsors of terrorism.
This is the kind of matter that should be handled and approved by an organization’s most senior leader. Mr. Tillerson presents himself as a hands-on manager. It defies credibility to believe he doesn’t recall.
This is extraordinarily troubling, because either one of two things is true.
Either Mr. Tillerson was aware of these SEC letters and was familiar with these dealings, but didn’t want to answer the questions honestly.
Or indeed he had no knowledge of consequential financial disclosures made by his own company. If you consider that in concert with all the other things he claimed to have “no knowledge of” – including the widely reported extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, whether or not Saudi Arabia was a human rights violator, whether or not his company was engaged in lobbying against, or perhaps FOR, energy sanctions – then maybe Mr. Tillerson does not have the necessary management skills or knowledge base to be the chief diplomat of the United States of America?
Mr. President, simply put: we need answers. What did Mr. Tillerson know, and when did he know it?
...Because the American people expect their Secretary of State to be straightforward and honest with them, not coy and dissembling. And most importantly, they expect him or her to have the interests of the American people, and our friends and allies around the world, at the forefront of their mind.
Yesterday’s hearings and today’s reports raise more questions than answers. The American people deserve answers.
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