ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson speaks at a news conference after an annual shareholders meeting on May 28, 2008, in Dallas. | Getty Tillerson boosters have Russia, Exxon business ties

Former government officials are lining up to vouch for ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as Donald Trump’s secretary of state, and they all have something in common — a financial stake in the outcome.

James Baker, the George H.W. Bush secretary of state who, MSNBC reported, advised Donald Trump to pick Tillerson, is a partner at a law firm that has represented Exxon as well as Rosneft, the Russian state-owned oil company that partners with Exxon.


The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Rosneft’s chairman, a close Vladimir Putin ally named Igor Sechin, in 2014 in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

The firm, Baker Botts (named for Baker’s great-grandfather), also represents Gazprom, the Russian state gas company.

Baker’s direct relationship with the companies isn’t clear, but his practice specializes in cross-border transactions, and as a partner in the firm, he probably profits from the range of its clients. He didn’t answer requests for comment.

Tillerson, who was formally nominated by Trump on Tuesday morning, also came recommended by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. They also work for Exxon through their international consulting firm, Rice Hadley Gates.

Rice and the firm also didn’t answer requests for comment. A Trump transition spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It would not be the first time Trump’s transition appeared to be influenced by people promoting paying clients: Trump’s protocol-smashing phone call with the president of the Taiwan followed months of lobbying from Bob Dole, the former senator whom Taiwan pays $20,000 a month.

The former officials’ endorsements are already being used to push back on some senators’ suspicions of Tillerson because of his coziness with Putin.

“It's going to be very hard for Marco Rubio, who came out against him, and very hard for John McCain and very hard for Lindsey Graham to paint Rex Tillerson as some sort of Putin stooge when you have Condi Rice and James Baker and possibly even Bob Gates saying we know this guy,” Joe Scarborough said Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Even McCain acknowledged, when asked about Baker’s support in an MSNBC interview later on Monday, “when you get support from people that are of that stature, certainly it’s helpful to him.”

But the officials’ business ties to Exxon and Russia could undermine the credibility of their support.

Rice and Gates’ business partner, former national security adviser Stephen Hadley, has advised Exxon since at least 2011, according to Iraq Oil Report, a website that tracks the country’s petroleum industry.

Quick facts on Rex Tillerson, Trump's pick for secretary of state On Tuesday morning, President-elect Donald Trump officially announced he picked ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his choice for secretary of state.

Exxon and Rosneft collaborate on 10 joint ventures in the Russian Arctic, the Black Sea and western Siberia, according to Exxon’s website. Tillerson and Putin personally concluded the agreement in 2011, according to Steve Coll, who wrote a book on Exxon.

Baker Botts’ work for Rosneft included its partnership with Exxon in Russia and other transactions, according to the firm’s website.

Baker Botts’ work for Exxon has ranged from defending the company against claims of age discrimination and fixing natural gas prices to representing the oil giant in litigation before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The firm also defended Gazprom against a $1.37 billion trade-secrets lawsuit from a Texas oil company. And Baker Botts advised the Russian company on various natural gas supply deals.

