and the theme of the little museum they had there about the exxon valdez that was exxon, they never made good on their promises to the people of exxon valdez. and i'd like to know if tillerson was running -- what as his position on the exxon valdez incident and why they never settled with the people of valdez? host: bradley olson? guest: the spill was in 1989 and definitely could come up because it was such kind of a black mark on the oil industry and led people to really lose trust in exxon and the industry for many years. and probably even still today made a huge mark on the american psyche in terms of being able to trust the energy industry. my understanding of what happened with exxon and the way they handled the valdez spill is they did contribute several billion in the immediate aftermath of the spill with cleanup efforts and efforts to restore that area in alaska. but there have been ongoing disputes that lasted all the way up to i think they concluded within the last 10 years over an effort -- to kind of reopen the matter and see if there was more money exxon should pay and exxon

times the amount of holdings exxon has here. opposed theocally russian sanctions that have been put in place which hamper exxon's ability to drill there. learnedt weeks we have about the incredibly disturbing extent to which russia has sought to weaken our nation from its efforts to undermine the election to yesterday's news that it had optimizing personal and financial information about the president-elect. inm sure that i am not alone saying i believe these allegations if true demand more againstnger sanctions russia. just this morning, donald trump said he thinks the russians did hack our american election. in light of what you now know about the extent of russia's hostile acts against our country, do you support againstng sanctions russia, even if doing so hurts exxon mobil. confirmed, in consultation with the president and i am sure will be an interagency decision around imposing additional sanctions on russia, there will space between me and the president and the administration on those decisions. if confirmed i serve only

russia loves exxon. exxon partnering with russia's state-run oil company, that's what brought their state-run oil company into the 21st century. that's what made russia's state-run oil company technologically capable. exxon is who taught them how to drill oil in hard-to-reach places because russia's oil is in hard-to-reach places. exxon partnering with russia's state-run oil company made that state-run oil company very effective and very rich. so russia loves exxon. exxon loves russia back because common bet on russia in a huge way under rex tillerson in terms of where they are planning on drilling their oil for the foreseeable decades. what they did under tillerson a few year ago was the biggest oil deal in the history of the world. and it got stopped by a policy decision made by the united states government. exxon needs the united states government to change that policy decision. exxon needs the united states government to change america's position overall about russia. simply so exxon can freaking dri

i'm sorry, exxon, not enron. also, very concerned about the subsidiary that exxon set up to bypass our sanctions on iran. we need a secretary of state who is clear about the role of u.s. foreign-policy. when i asked him how he would respond if other companies did clearhe did not get a answer that he would work to have those companies abide in that americanuses policymakers were pursuing with those sanctions. i am also concerned about his statements on how he responded to the questions about killings in the philippines. his company's payments to the personal family of dictator for , andin equatorial guinea his response to russia's actions in syria and the bombing of aleppo. and all of these things added up, i thought to representing answers you might expect from someone wearing their company hat, but not someone setting forth a moral compass for american leadership in the world. and that is the foundation on which i opposed him. thank you. mr. chairman: thank you. i think the question -- whate sanctions was he tri

tillerson with regard to his holdings on exxon mobil, not personally, but the holdings of exxon mobil inside of the country of russia, he refused to commit to recusing himself from all matters related to exxon mobil for the duration of the time that he would be secretary of state. at the time at which mr.'s tillerson tillerson took over of ceo of exxon mobil, they had very small holdings in russia. today exxon mobil holds an area that is the size of wyoming for drilling purposes inside russia. that is, for my purpose, a fundamental conflict of interest. i would feel a lot more comfortable if mr. tillerson would agree to recuse himself from any matter related to exxon mobil for the duration of his time as secretary of state. he has refused to do so. during his time as ceo of exxon mobil, the company opposed the sanctions put on russia that would hamper the business activity of exxon mobil inside that country. i just think it's fundamental that mr. tillerson recuse himself from any of those issues because the american people have a right to know that it is their interest and not exxon m

he may have gotten rid of exxon's stock, but he hasn't gotten rid of exxon's mindset. and mr. tillerson's answers to questions about climate change, the global generational challenge of our time, are a cause for extreme concern. although we recognize climate change is real and human activities influenced it, he would not commit to continuing action on it as a foreign policy priority. throughout his hearing, mr. tillerson would only say that he wanted to keep a seat at the table of climate negotiations. the united states needs to have more than a seat at the table. we need to be at the head of the table. in december, 2015, 150 heads of state gathered in support of finalizing the paris climate a -- accord. it represents a global solution to the problem of global warming in which all countries commit to doing their fair share. but instead of strengthening this historic accord, mr. tillerson indicated that all treaties and agreements to which the united states is a party would be up for review by president trump. america needs a secretary of state who will lead the world to fully

he reportedly under exxon mobil, and i say you, the head of exxon mobil, wanted to illuminate secondary sections that would prevent joint ventures. 2004makes sense in 2003, and it doesn't you were engaged five, -- you were engaged in a 2005, subsidiary company in businesses with countries who the united states listed as state sponsors of terrorism including iran, syria, and the sudan. countries that, except for the maneuver of your subsidiary, exxon mobil cannot in dealing with. exxon mobil was listed as an -- part of an adversary group that lobbies against sanctions. the group lobbied against sanctions in iran. it applauded passage of the joint comprehensive plan of action. my question is what that is a history, with the work you did in the spring of 2011, or you -- where you oversaw exxon mobil deal with the kurdish region of iraq, after the united states government expressly did not want to see that happen fearing and you would undermine the u.s. policy of one iraq and leave the country closer to civil war what , message are you now going to be able to send to american businesses who

as ceo of exxon, you vocally opposed the russian sanctions that have been put in place which hamper exxon's ability to drill there. now in recent weeks we have learned about the incredibly disturbing extent to which russia has sought to weaken our nation from its efforts to under mine the election to yesterday's news that it has compromising personal and financial information about the president elect. now i am sure that i am not alone in saying that i believe that these allegations if true demand more and stronger sanctions against russia. now just this morning donald trump said that he thinks the russians did hack our american election. so mr. tillerson, in light of what you now know about the extend of russia's hostile acts against our country, do you support increasing sanctions against russia even if doing so hurts exxonmobil? >> senator, if confirmed in consultation with the president and i'm sure what will be an interagency decision around imposing additional sanctions on russia, there will be no space between me and the president or the administration in those decisions. i serve if

but exxon is listed and the whole purpose and while exxon is a huge cooperation like the state department you may not know everything that is going on. but you are giving direction as to whether or not you want to be lobbying on certain issues and taking positions or not. you told me p in the world conversation with president-elect you didn't discuss russia. it is difficult to believe that you didn't know exxon was lobbying. >> my understanding they are required wherewhether you are lobby for or agains you are required to report. >> you believe you were paying to money to lobby. >> i don't know. all i know. >> can can you imagine your share holders to lobby for sanctions to bottom line. >> it would depend on the circumstance. >> let me turn to mexico. a little different part of the world. some of us care about the western hemisphere. last week, the president-elect said the money spent on building a wall will be paid for it. that has been a hallmark chant in trump rallies and now the president-elect said the american people will pay for are it and the mexicans will reimburse it. the last t

in exact, exxon had a direct financial interest. u.s. and european sanctions forced the oil giant out of the estimated $1 billion arctic drilling. if he lifts those sanctions or decides against new ones exxon could gain financially. >> what i tell him is, you know, we're not going anywhere. we have been around 130 years. when the sanctions are over we'll all sit down and get back to work and until then we just have to comply with the law. >> russia is not the only country in which they opposed policy. in iraq he negotiated an oil deal with the curdish government in northern iraq. >> i'm not here to defend it or criticize it. >> still it's his relationship with russia that is raising the most scrutiny though it may also bring potential advantages. >> obama's russia policy has fa failed there's no question trump will be able to develop a better relationship with russia if he wants to and tiller is on could facilitate that. that's not a horrible outcome frankly but in the context of a president trump who apparently is not interested in unde

as ceo of exxon, you vocally opposed the russian sanctions that have been put in place with hamper exxon's ability to drill there. in recent weeks we have learned about the incredibly disturbing extent to which russia has sought to weaken our nation from its effort to undermined the election, to yesterday's news that it has compromising personal and financial information about the president-elect. now, i am sure that i am not alone in saying that i believe that these allegations, if true, demand more and stronger sanctions against russia. now just this morning donald trump said that he thinks that the russians did hack our american election. so, mr. tillerson, in light of what you now know about the extent of russia's hostile acts against our country, do you support increasing sanctions against russia, even if doing so hurts exxonmobil? >> well, senator, if confirmed in consultation with the president and i'm sure what will be an inneragency decision around imposing additional sanctions on russia, there will be no space between me and the president or the administration in those decisions.

but with exxon, it was legal. one of the soldiers was dying to create an arrangement and exxon was undermining it. is this not a line of concern? >> i think is. have you marco rubio raising the issue of saudi arabia. i raised the issue of saudi arabia, using cluster munitions. so have you bipartisan both of us concerned about it. marco rubio raised concern of president due tar te of the philippines of having killings of thousands of young men on street. his answer is simply i need a little more information. when i asked about cluster munitions, well i don't really have thoughts on that. and you -- he had started when he first came and talked to me in office in saying my goal is to have moral clarity in u.s. policy. but all i heard during testimony he gave is a complete lack of moral clarity on issues he should have been able to say, no, this is not right in the world and america's going to try it take this on. for example when raised about russia and putin authorizing the bombing of villains that have killed hundr

as the head of exxon, mr. tillerson did business with the terrorism trifecta: iran, syria, the sudan. this 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 questions from the senior senator from new jersey and the senator from oregon, mr. tillerson denied having knowledge of these dealings and directed senators to seek more information from exxonmobil 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 dodge ball 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 sec, the securities and exchange commission wrote letters directed to mr. tillerson himself seeking more information

in essence, exxon became the in-house lobbyist for russia against the sanctions. sanctions are one of the most effective in our arsenal to avoid putting american lives at risk by engaging in traditional warfare. now, today in response to a previous question by senator cardin you said sanctions are a powerful tool. you've made statements and given speeches where you said you do not believe sanctions are a useful tool. so if sanctions are not a useful tool have you changed yoare the tools of peaceful diplomacy you will use to get countries to return and act within the international order? what will you say to vladimir putin putin when he says to you you said sanctions were bad? >> i think it's important to acknowledge that when sanctions are imposed, they by their design will harm american business. that's the idea is to disrupt america's business engagement in whatever country is being targeted for sanctions. and so broadly -- >> i don't think it's to disrupt american business but to disrupt the economies of those countries. now, american business may or may not be

at an early age he started as a production engineer at exxon in 1975 and eventually climbing his way to the top as ceo of the fortune 10 company. at exxon, he led one of the world's most respected companies with over 75,000 employees and over $250 billion in revenue. exxon, a proud texas company does business in 52 countries, and rex has travelled the globe negotiating business deals with world leaders, effectively advocating for the interest of his company, shareholders, and employees. the numerous achievements rex has earned, they don't come without hard work, dedication and passion for one's mission. this is the work ethic and spirit tt america needs in its secretary of state. that is the attitude that gives me confidence and the opportunity that rex has to chart a different, better and stronger course for our national security and diplomacy. we need a secretary of state who understands that america is exceptional, who will establish policies upon that foundation of exceptioni exceptionism, and who will put america's interest first. repeatedly, the current administration has used

we had the tum mayority to sue exxon mobil. let's say our first encounter was a little awkward to say the least. over the years i've grown to admire and respect rex. he didn't let our differences get in the way of what we could agree on. since then i've seen him none straight an uncanny ability to serve our country well. that's an ability to handle business matters while maintaining and building relationships, a further testament to his integrity and strength of character. once he's confirmed, i'm confident he will be instrumental in shaping american foreign policy as we face a broad array of diplomatic challenges that will define the security and success of our nation for generations. so thank you, chairman corker, ranking member cardin and members of the committee for letting me introduce rex tillerson. >> thank you for being maybe the first prompt senator i've witnessed here. thank you so much. >> trying to set the standard. >> thank you, sir. >> mr. chairman, ranking member cardin, members of the committee, good morning. it

reportedly under exxon mobil -- and i say you as the head of exxon mobil -- wanted to eliminate secondary sanctions to prevent joint ventures. this makes sense as in 2003 and 2004 and 2005 you were engaged to a subsidiary company in businesses with countries who the united states listed as state sponsors of terrorism including iran, syria and the sudan. countries that except for the maneuver of your subsidiary exxon mobil could not have been dealing with. exxonmobil is listed as an advocacy group that lobbies against sanctions. the group lobbied against sanctions including against iran. so my question is with that as a history, with the work that you did in the spring of 2011 where you over saw a deal with the government of iraq after the united states government expressly didn't want that to happen fearing a deal would you should mine the u.s. policy of one iraq and lead the country closer to civil war, what message are you now going to be able to send to american businesses who are intent on pursuing their own interests at the expense of u.s. policies and potential for political stabili

he started as a production engineer at exxon in 1975. eventually climbing his way to the top of ceo of the fortune 10 company. at exxon, he led one of the world's most respected companies with over 75,000 employees and over $250 billion in revenue. company,proud texas does business in 52 countries. rex tillerson has traveled the globe negotiated -- negotiating business deals with world leaders, effectively advocating or the interest of his company, shareholders, and employees. the numerous achievements that rex tillerson has earned do not come without hard work, dedication, and passion for one's mission. this is the work ethic and spirit that america needs in an secretary of state. that is the attitude that gives me confidence in the opportunity that rexks has -- tillerson has to chart a better course for our national security and diplomacy. we need a secretary of state who understands that america is exceptional. a secretary that will establish policies on the foundation of that exceptionalism and will put america's interests first. rep

will tillerson help exxon while he's in office? will the law -- welshing the law requires -- well the law requires him to recuse himself from any matters involving this company for how long? for just one year. common sense requires tillerson, who, again, is receiving $180 million as special payment from the company where he has worked his entire adult life -- common sense requires him to recuse himself from all matters involving exxon for the entirety of his time in government. but when pressed by my massachusetts colleague, senator markey, tillerson flatly refused to do it. mr. tillerson's views, experiences, relationships, and compromising arrangements with russia aren't my only problem with his nomination -- not by a longshot. mr. tillerson's company has spent years lying about climate change. now, in massachusetts we have laws about consumer fraud, telling people lies about your product, lies that could make a difference about whether or not customers want to buy it. the massachusetts attorney general has been investigating w

exxon mobil is listed as a coalition member of u.s. a engage, an advocacy group that lobbies against sanctions. this group lobbied against sanctions including against iran and employed a passage of a joint comprehensive plan of action. my question is, with the -- with that history, the work you did in spring of 2011, where he oversaw the exxon mobil deal with the kurdish iraq, after the united states government expressly did not want to see that had and, thinking a deal would undermine the u.s. all the of one iraq and leave the country closer to a civil war, what message will you now be able to send to american businesses intent on pursuing their own interest at the expense of u.s. policies and potential for political stability in foreign countries? how will you recalibrate your priorities as secretary of state ? your shareholders are the american people and their security and interests. mr. tillerson: there was a lot in that question. could respond. i have never lobbied against sanctions personally. >> the company you directed did, --

exxon is asking for tax dollars back from those. if you are carrying out foreign policy in those countries, how will you deal with that situation in terms of contact with exxon, with your former colleagues, that kind of situation. >> let me start with where you began in terms of taking phone calls. i would not expect that i will be taking phone calls from any business leaders. in my prior role i never called on the secretary of state directly. i called on the department often or the missions. primary the ambassadors. so i -- whether i'll take phone calls from anyone is a subject to the question itself. as to how i would deal with the past history i have in m prior position with exxonmobil, i made clear in m disclosures and i think in answer to questions that have been posed in is a statutory recusal period i will adhere to on any matters that might come before the state department that deal directly and specifically with exon mobile. beyond that, though, in terms of broader issues dealing with the fact it might involve the out and n

>> take us through exxons relationship with russia. how big a bad is russia for exxon? tina: russia is a lot less war,tant since the crimea so it has been a sea change for exxon having to switch around. as i mentioned at one point, russia was the longest -- largest landholding huge deal. got oile have known, he over friendship from bladder and written, very -- friendship with vladimir putin. >> what might he lead in terms of sanctions? they need to have more bite, but he also said he did not think they worked. tina: he was very clear, he said sanctions are not a one-size-fits-all. they are not a panacea to the problem. exxon had to get special dispensation to close up the drill with russia when the sanctions hit under obama. this is something that he will have to tackle immediately. it will be interesting to see if he is taking a different stance from the trump administration. trump has questions this. jonathan: another hearing taking place is governor mark carney in front of the treasury select committee, to bring the comments of that and what he has said. according to

there's a whole host of material about exxon lobbying on the sanctions and whole host in which exxon reports in the law they lobbied on these bills that imposed sanctions. there's your report at the 2014 meeting and i quote, we do not support sanctions generally. and you continued so we always encourage the people who are making those decisions to consider the very broad clat lal damage of who are they really harming and i would like to enter these articles into the record if i could. and it's article titled new york times rex tillerson's company kpon has billions at stake over sanctions at russia. it lays out exxonmobil helped defeat russia sanctions bill and notes how it's model successfully lobbied that would make it harder for the next president to lift sanctions against russia. another article lays out tillerson visited the white house often over the russian sanctions. so there's a host of material showing wide-spread pattern of weighing against these interests that were harming kpoen mobile's interest in russia. do you still maintain that exxonmobil did not lobby against these

and in june of 2012, you signed a letter indicating in your role of ceo of exxon/mobil, you supported the law of the sea. i was a member of this committee when then chairman john kerry convened seven hearings where panel after panel of four-star admirals and generals and business leaders and national security leaders and former republican leaders, the administration and senators all testified in support of this, yet we fell short of ratification. had we ratified it, we would have that seat at the table to aggressively assert the international law of the sea and to push back on china's actions, which during that debate were hypothetical, today are real. would you work to support the law of the sea convention if confirmed as secretary? >> well, i will certainly work with the president. we've not discussed that particular treaty. certainly my position i've taken in the past was one from the per sti -- perspective of the role i had at the time. i am aware of objection people have. that is the principal objection people have. when given the opportunity to discuss this in the inter agency o

but when you're exxon, remember exxon has a 50-year plan, exxon is thinking past putin. i know that seems incredible, but they're the only company i know with a 50-year plan. >> they do. interestingly the stock has been downgraded today by wells fargo as you guys know. >> yes. what is that about? >> they expected exxon to be able to pursue an acquisition during the oil price downturn as a way to grow returns, however with that window likely closed for now plus premium valuation, they're stepping back. >> i agree with that call. i've been hounding them to make that acquisition. many of the acquisitions in the united states -- nothing moves the needle for exxon. >> yeah. >> as far as blue chip downgrades go for the week, coke, p&g, exxon, goldman, mt, that's five. >> these are nonbelievers. these are people who think this sugar high. i like that term the sugar high of the market. >> yeah. >> i've got to tell you sugar high of bank of america got you from 15 to 23. i say bring sugar on. make it domino -- i'll take stevia. >> peps kico's been weak here. i think it's a buy at

tillerson's pay package with comm exxon. first up, stocks end up with more gains with a best day in more than three weeks including tuesday's triple digit increase for the dow. the watch is on for the 2:00 p.m. eastern release for the minutes from the fed's december meeting which might disclose some clues about policymakers views about inflation, strong data and the president-elect as well, jim. >> there was a time when i feared those minutes. they come out at 2:00, steve liesman come on, start thinking, wow, oh my, so worried they may have to raise rates. i have to tell you, they're not talking about raising rates three more times than j.p. morgan which is one of my fafrt stocks in the dow can go down big. remember, four rate hikes. the whole dynamic has changed. we saw some of that with byron. we are at one of these moments where we want growth. and we don't fear the fed. and not fearing the fed, not fearing the tape, obviously the market went down yesterday when oil broke and then came back. what was it led by? the oil st

aboutr piece, you talk exxon's role in indonesia. could you explain what exxon is being accused of there? >> human rights was a big theme route the hearing, brought up by many, many senators. as someone who has spent -- i have written three books about the oil industry is been a lot of time studying exxonmobil, to hear rex tillerson continually talk and a neck to be didn't, but he did mention the ways he would uphold human rights, was deeply disturbing. for one reason being this case that i highlight in my report which is one of the more renowned because of the level of abuse, international human rights cases involving an oil company. this is a case in which the complaint is actually now just getting ready to go before the u.s. district court in washington, d.c. they are awaiting a trial date any day now. this involves severe human rights abuses in indonesia by security forces employed by exxonmobil. in the complaint, specifically names rex tillerson. what the charges are, they involve charges from 2000-2004 that exxonmobil essential

way better than exxons. they've been able to deliver. chevron's quarter was crummy. >> not this past quarter. >> it was not a good quarter, i will give you that for sure but have sustainable growth given the underlying assets they have. still question marks about exxon and whether they have to do an m and a particularly in the permian base in that area which will be expensive. chevron has out performed exxon by 14% over the last six months. and some people were starting to think, maybe we'll start to see that reverse. i think after this quarter -- after both of them reported not so great numbers i don't think chevron is going to start to underperform. i think you want to own chevron, not exxon. >> it's half the size. so by definition in a beta rally for the whole oil patch you're going to see out performance from companies that are the smaller market cap almost all the time. >> josh, they have way better results. >> we don't disagree with that. >> conoco will out perform both of them because they have higher beta. >> all three of them wi

why are your thoughts on exxon participated in that? time ofinued in the when you were in the leadership of the company? rex tillerson: am familiar with the circumstance. it was the subject of an investigation of the judiciary committee but there were no findings that we done anything .rong the payments that we would make to any company, there are domestic producers here on federal lands. there are royalties and taxes paid to the treasury. but the government does with is after the government. the u.s. government distributes that responsibly. some countries do not. mobil -- on the whole, there are positive benefits to people of the country. in terms of job creation. i'm not suggesting it works a mitigation of the country but it is not without benefit or having american values on the ground. this is not just the industry's portion but any portion. >> you mentioned that royalties and taxes should go to the government but in this case, exxon mobil made the payments to a private account controlled by the president. do you see anything wrong

rex tillerson put exxon's interests before america's.. i'm not here to represent the us government's interest. instead, tillerson sided with putin. with billions in russian oil deals... he opposed us sanctions on russia... ...for war crimes forced to pay hundreds of millions for toxic pollution... ...putting profits ahead of our kid's health. tell your senators to reject rex tillerson. and protect american interests not corporate interests. and they're absolutely right. they say that it's hot... when really, it's scorching. and while some may say the desert is desolate... we prefer secluded. what is the desert? it's absolutely what you need right now. absolutely scottsdale. >>> time now for five things you need know for your "new day". tom intelligence chief calling donald trump, james clapper assuring mr. trump that the intel community did not leak details of an unsubstantiated report. >> senate republicans pass a resolution that include repealing obamacare. it was a marathon late night session. the house is expected to take up the measu

tillerson go around our iran sanctions simply to line exxon's pockets? that would be a very bad thing. the american people ought to know about it before the senate has to vote to confirm. for rex tillerson to answer the questions and particularly questions about exxon setting up a separate subsidiary to get around our iran sanctions is what the founding fathers wanted us to do when they enumerated in the advise and consent process. and, mr. president, this is not a partisan game. we're not doing this for sport. these aren't obscure procedural complaints. this is standard process. and as i reminded my friend, the majority leader, yesterday, this is the same exact process my counterpart demanded in 2009 when the shoe was on the other foot. just as then-minority leader mcconnell laid out in his 2009 letter to then-majority leader reid, democrats expect each nominee to have all the prerequisites with time to review before we move forward with the hearings. president obama's nominees completed all of their paperwork in 2009 before the hearings. we expect noth

tillotson is making a clean break from exxon, and history of these conflicts. he's even gone so far to say that teller since ethics agreement serves as a sterling model for what we like to see with other nominees. he clearly recognizes that public service sometimes comes at a cost. i believe inquiries into mr. tillerson said nominations have been fair and exhaustive. during the hearing lasted over eight hours and is responded to over 1000 questions for the record. i'm proud of the bipartisan the process which is keeping in tradition of this committee that we pursue this regarding his nomination, and i think that what opinions and votes today may differ, that the process has been very sound. with that i would like to recognize a distinguished ranking member for his comments, senator cardin. >> well, mr. chairman, as i have said during the hearings and i repeat again, i want to thank you for the fairness in which you have allowed these confirmation hearings to go forward, and the building of our members to be able to question mr. tillerson and to ask additional q

in the hot seat was former exxon c.e.o. and prison guard who didn't see you getting stabbed, rex tillerson. now one of the big knocks on tillerson is how cozy he is with vladimir putin and exxon's willingness to do business with shady governments. >> exxon has a partnership with shell, a company known as infineum, that did a fair number of transactions with iran, bypassing u.s. sanctions. are you familiar with this, the use of this subsidiary to bypass u.s. sanctions and do you think it was the right thing to do? >> i don't recall the incident. i've read about it. spt i don't recall it, >> stephen: really? seems like something a person would remember. "wait, did i leave the oven on? no. did i lock the door? yes. did i break the law against doing business with a state sponsor of terrorism? ugh, that's gonna gnaw at me all day!" something, something, something, something... ( laughter ) doing business with iran sounds sketchy, but tillerson reassured the committee that exxon never lobbied against iran sanctions. >> i have nev

exxon mobil has $500 billion invested in russia. because of the sanctions on the dig oil, they cannot wealth -- oil wells so the money is just sitting there and vladimir putin gave that name to the president-elect to make him the secretary of state to get the sanctions removed so they can all make money. everybody knows that the president-elect would do anything for a buck. host: other headlines today on the front page of the "wall street journal" -- trump says the bar for china and russia, he says donald trump wants to emphasize flexibility in dealing with america's two largest strategic rivals. basing your relationships on the degree to which china and russia corporate with the u.s. economic , diplomatic, and military priorities. keepd trump said he would sanctions against russia imposed by the obama administration at least for some time. commit to would not america's long-standing agreement with china over taiwan until he sees what he considers progress from beijing and its currency and trade practices. he said he considered any

rex telus, the former exxon chairman and chief executive chosen by donald trump for us secretary of state will receive $180 million to cut financial ties with the energy firm. the pay—out will take place only if he is confirmed in the new role and it's aimed at addressing concerns the former exxon executive could favour the oil giant or his own interests while in office. he left exxon at the end of last year. 2016 was a yearfor the end of last year. 2016 was a year for wheeling and dealing, although it was down from record levels, the previous year, there was still lots more deals going on, more than $2.5 trillion done last year. in this region china was the standout performer with 798 outbound acquisitions and there's also been a busy year for vietnam, indonesia and australia while things have been more subdued in thailand, malaysia and the philippines. these figures are from a law firm and their mergers and acquisitions lawyer based in tokyo alun evans is seeing a different picture for this year. the outstanding story in 2016 was the china outbound story, more than $200 billion spent

we have got rex tillerson who said he's going to sell off his share options and interests in exxon mobile. he was ceo. is that enough in regaining trust? that's easier. it is easier to sell shares than it is real estate. everybody knows that there is the properties. they know who is the owner. there is few people who ca n afford the owner. there is few people who can afford to buy the properties whereas shares are easier. rex tillerson's divestment process is more straightforward than the president—elect faces. more straightforward than the president-elect faces. stephanie, thank you. when the conference starts, we will be across it here on the bbc. in other news: volkswagen's management and supervisory board are expected to meet later on wednesday to sign off an agreement with the us department ofjustice and customs. a draft settlement has been reached for a $4.3 billion fine which would draw a line under the emissions cheating scandal. the german car—maker also said it would plead guilty to breaking certain us laws. the company has admitted cheating test on its vehicles and already

. >> and exxon ceo rex tillerson as they look for new details on relationship with russia. fox has more. >> it was republican senator that asked the most piercing questions of republican president-elect secretary of state nominee. >> is vladimir putin a war criminal. >> i would not use that term. >> let me describe a situation on aleppo and perhaps you can reach that conclusion. >> it's his relationship with russia, its president and state-owned oil company that attracted the most criticism to former exxon mobile ceo and secretary of state nominee rex tillerson. under his leadership he substantially expanded business with russia and rubio seized on that to probe tillerson's belief on russia under vladimir putin. >> you're not prepared to say vladimir putin and his military violated rules of war and conducted war crimes in aleppo. >> those are very, very seriou >> mr. tirlson do you believe that vladimir putin and his crohnyes are responsible for ordering the murder of opportunity toless journ list and political opponents. >> i do not have sufficient information to make that

have these measures announced by rex tillerson and exxon mobile satisfied people on the issue? there are a few issues, he is the first of the appointees to make any announcements about severing their ties. this is not the only appointment that mr trump has made that has strong business ties. it has set quite a high bar. the question is, what are other people going to do in terms of separating that? when it comes to mr tillerson himself, with regards to business interests he has separated himself but there are concerns about his ties to russia in that he was someone who went against the sanctions against russia and has been called a friend by the country and vladimir putin. when it comes to confirmation, he's going to get a pretty rough ride from colleagues on capitol hill. interesting, thank you. ijust capitol hill. interesting, thank you. i just saw on twitter, capitol hill. interesting, thank you. ijust saw on twitter, as capitol hill. interesting, thank you. i just saw on twitter, as well asa you. i just saw on twitter, as well as a press conference by donald trump scheduled

and i am appreciative of the exxon mobile board were willing to work with with me to achieve that. it was their objective, too. and if that required me to walk away from things, that is fine. whatever is necessary to achieve that and i don't want the appearance that there is any connection to the future or fortune was exxon mobile. >> thank you for that. i think it stands in stark contrast of what we heard from president-elect trump who will not divest himself of the vast business interest. i appreciate that you see it is important to maintain that position with with the american people and world. you talk about eliminating isis as a top priority if p you are confirmed and your opening statement connects islam to isis and you make the point of saying that you think it is important to support muslims around the world who reject radical islam. during the last congress. this community heard about the working of the muslim community to combat isis and the domestic terrorist that are produced as a result of isis ideology. in your view, is it help to feel suggest as manners we should be