Democrats, Tillis say Congress may investigate banks and ports for Russian diesel imports

Democrats and outgoing Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.) are telling banks and ports that Congress may investigate imports of Russian diesel after President Trump said the U.S. would import the fuel.

In letters to major banks and several U.S. port authorities, the lawmakers wrote that “any importation of Russian diesel into the U.S. raises significant legal questions and may be subject to legal action, as well as congressional investigations.”

“Companies that import products in violation of U.S. law may expose themselves to both criminal and civil liability,” they wrote. “Moreover, criminal penalties may apply to any company that knowingly buys Russian diesel or facilitates its importation, and not simply the importer of record.”

In the letters, Tillis, as well as Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chris Coons (Del.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), asked the banks and ports to preserve records of any proposed or actual imports or transactions related to Russian diesel. 

If Democrats take back one or both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, they will gain significant investigative and oversight powers and could probe President Trump’s efforts to import diesel fuel from Russia.

Trump said earlier this month that Russia would supply the U.S. and global markets with diesel as prices have remained high as a result of both the U.S.-Iran and Russia-Ukraine wars. The administration also said it would be lifting sanctions.

The move prompted bipartisan outcry, with critics saying it could help Russia carry out its war against Ukraine and harm civilians.

Meanwhile, Moscow has said that an initial diesel shipment has departed for the U.S.

Asked about the latest letter, the administration said its move to lift sanctions is legal and consistent with similar actions previously taken by the Treasury Department’s sanctions office. 

“The Democrats are already telegraphing that, once again, they have no agenda to improve the lives of Americans and will instead continue their decade-long obsession with investigating President Trump,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in an email.

She added that Trump “has done more than anyone else” to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end and said the war would not have started if Trump were president when it broke out. 

The letter was sent out to CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo Bank, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, along with leaders of the port authorities of New York/New Jersey and Houston, Corpus Christi and Beaumont, Texas.