Rex Tillerson, Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, denied knowledge of any lobbying efforts against US economic sanctions by ExxonMobil, the company he ran for a decade, during his congressional confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

But Democrats on the committee produced lobbying disclosure records that show the oil and gas company lobbied on various legislation relating to economic sanctions, including measures imposed on Iran in 2010 and on Russia for its annexation of Crimea in 2014.

“I have never lobbied against sanctions,” Tillerson told the Senate foreign relations committee. “To my knowledge, Exxon never directly lobbied against sanctions.”

Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, interjected: “I think you called me at the time” when the Russia sanctions were being debated.

Tillerson, 64, who headed the world’s biggest oil company until last month, argued that ExxonMobil never opposed sanctions but rather wanted to engage with Congress to better understand the impact sanctions would have.

Exxon echoed Tillerson’s assessment on Wednesday. “Let’s be clear,” the company said on Twitter. “We engage with lawmakers to discuss sanction impacts, not whether or not sanctions should be imposed.”

In one line of questioning, Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, held up several lobbying reports. “I know you weren’t lobbying for the sanctions,” he said to Tillerson.

The focus on lobbying came as Tillerson faced sharp questions during a lengthy proceeding on his business ties to Moscow, his potential conflicts of interest, and his view of some of Trump’s most controversial proposals.

But the confirmation hearing in a packed room on Capitol Hill in Washington was overshadowed by allegations that Moscow collected compromising information about Donald Trump, and by a press conference held by the president-elect in New York at the same time.



Democratic senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut asked Tillerson if he had been briefed on the explosive allegations in the dossier alleging secret contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia, which was published online on Tuesday night. “I have not,” he said.

Asked whether Trump had been briefed on them, Tillerson said again he did not know. Murphy then asked if ExxonMobil had any business dealings with the Trump associates Paul Manafort and Carter Page, both of whose links to Moscow have been scrutinised. “Not that I’m aware of,” Tillerson said.

Tillerson had not yet received a security clearance and therefore did not have access to classified briefings. But he said he had read the unclassified report that US intelligence agencies released last week on Russian interference in the presidential election.

Asked about Moscow’s alleged cyber-attack, which Trump finally acknowledged at his press conference, Tillerson said: “That report clearly is troubling and indicates that all of the actions you just described were undertaken.”

Tillerson has a two-decade relationship with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and received the Order of Friendship from him in 2013, raising concerns over his independence.

Pressed on Putin’s record on human rights and military actions in Syria, he claimed a lack of knowledge and said he and Trump had not yet “had the opportunity to discuss” the issue.

At the hearing, which was briefly disrupted by protesters, Tillerson faced a particular grilling from Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who was defeated by Trump in the Republican primaries, and Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, who was Hillary Clinton’s running mate.



Rubio asked bluntly: “Is Vladimir Putin a war criminal?”

Tillerson replied carefully: “I would not use that term.”

Rubio detailed the recent carnage in Aleppo, but Tillerson stood his ground: “Those are very, very serious charges to make and I want to have much more information.”

Rubio, the sole Republican who has said he might vote against Tillerson, noted “the videos and pictures are there” and argued: “It should not be hard to say that Vladimir Putin’s military has conducted war crimes in Aleppo.”

Still Tillerson did not yield. Rubio commented: “I find it discouraging, your inability to cite that which I think is globally accepted.”

Rubio went on to discuss the murders of Russian dissidents, journalists and political opponents. But Tillerson only said that he hoped to learn more once he could receive classified reports.

“None of this is classified, Mr Tillerson,” Rubio interjected. “People are dead.”

Rubio later pressed Tillerson to label Saudi Arabia a human rights violator but he refused, arguing that the characterization was short-sighted and might actually prevent the country from making progress in this area.

“There seems to be some misunderstanding that I see the world through a different lens,” Tillerson said to Rubio. “I’m also clear-eyed and realistic about dealing in cultures.”

At the end of the day’s hearing, Rubio said he was disappointed by Tillerson’s responses to his questions on human rights.

“If confirmed by the Senate and you run the Department of State, you’re going to have to label countries and individuals all the time,” Rubio told him. “When they see the United States is not prepared to stand up [and say]: ‘Yes, Vladimir Putin is a war criminal, Saudi Arabia violates human rights … it demoralizes these people all over the world.”

Asked about Trump’s proposal to introduce a ban on Muslims from entering the country, Tillerson stopped short of rejecting the idea.

“I do not support a blanket-type rejection of any particular group of people,” he said in response to a question from Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire.

Asked about another hugely controversial proposal of Trump’s, a register of Muslims in the US, Tillerson said he would need more details on its scope and purpose before lending his support to it.

“I would need to have a lot more information around how such an approach would even be constructed,” he said. “And if it were a tool for vetting, then it probably extends to other people as well – other groups that are threats to the US.”

Tillerson called moderate Muslims “our greatest allies in this war” against the Islamic State, and said the US should amplify Muslim Americans who “reject this same radical Islam that we reject”.

During his opening statement to the Senate foreign relations committee, Tillerson argued that Russia’s resurgence happened in the “absence of American leadership” and condemned its annexation of Crimea.



He said: “We must be clear-eyed about our relationship with Russia. Russia today poses a danger, but it is not unpredictable in advancing its own interests. It has invaded Ukraine, including the taking of Crimea, and supported Syrian forces that brutally violate the laws of war. Our Nato allies are right to be alarmed at a resurgent Russia.”

Tillerson did acknowledge the existence of climate change, although he questioned how accurately its effects could be measured.

Kaine argued that Exxon continued to fund groups that challenge the scientific consensus on the issue. He asked Tillerson to clarify what ExxonMobil has known about global warming despite its public claims through the years.



“Senator, since I’m no longer with ExxonMobil, I’m in no position to speak on their behalf,” Tillerson said.

Unimpressed, Kaine reminded Tillerson that he had been at the oil giant for more than four decades. “Do you lack the knowledge to answer my question, or do you refuse to answer my question?” the senator asked.

Tillerson replied: “A little of both,” to laughter in the room.

When Kaine shifted to potential conflicts of interest involving Trump’s business empire, Tillerson again denied knowledge. Kaine seized on the answer, asking about the implications of conducting diplomacy with foreign officials “who know more about the president’s financial interest and exposure than you do”.

Tillerson insisted that “as long as the objective of a negotiation is clear, that’s all that matters” to a secretary of state.

Tillerson said he would recuse himself if matters directly involving ExxonMobil arose during his tenure at the state department.

Confirmation hearings for Trump’s cabinet are coming thick and fast. It was the second day for Alabama senator Jeff Sessions, who is seeking confirmation for the position of attorney general. He came under fire from a fellow senator, Cory Booker, who claimed Sessions would not guarantee justice for all, and representative John Lewis, a veteran of the civil rights struggle.

“The job of an attorney general requires a more courageous empathy than Senator Sessions’s record demonstrates,” Booker told the Senate Judiciary Committee. “That record suggests that he won’t aggressively pursue the congressional mandate of civil rights, equal rights, and justice for all of our citizens.”

Elaine Chao faced a far friendlier line of questioning before the Senate commerce, science and transportation committee during her confirmation hearing to lead the Department of Transportation.

Unlike many of Trump’s nominees, Chao is considered a conventional choice for the role and is expected to be approved by the committee with bipartisan support.

Chao was introduced by her husband, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, who reminded the committee that this wasn’t the first time a majority leader endorsed his wife for the role. Bob Dole, then the Republican leader, had previously introduced his wife, Elizabeth Dole, to head the department.



Borrowing from Dole, McConnell told the committee: “I regret that I have but one wife to give for my country’s infrastructure.”