Critics have exposed a little-known flaw in President Donald Trump’s “unlawful” diesel deal with Russia that threatens to scare off the banks and ports needed to bring the fuel ashore.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), five other Democrats and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) warned six major banks and four port authorities about that legal risk in an Oct. 24 letter, Axios reported Monday.
The recipients include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and port authorities in New York, New Jersey and Texas, Axios reported.
“[A]ny importation of Russian diesel into the U.S. raises significant legal questions and may be subject to legal action, as well as congressional investigations,” the lawmakers wrote.
Asked about the letter, the administration told The Hill that its move is legal.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers accused Democrats of continuing their “decade-long obsession with investigating President Trump.”
The first tanker carrying Russian diesel under the deal, the Agioi Fanendes, loaded 40,000 metric tons at Russia’s Primorsk port on Oct. 22 and is expected in New York on Nov. 7, Reuters reported. Axios noted that ships’ planned destinations often change.
Trump announced the deal on Truth Social on Oct. 9, promising lower diesel prices.
The Treasury Department issued a license the same day allowing Russian diesel transactions, including “importation into the United States,” through April 7, 2027. Critics say the license conflicts with the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, a 2022 law that bans imports of Russian energy products, including diesel, Time reported.
The lawmakers wrote that “criminal penalties may apply to any company that knowingly buys Russian diesel or facilitates its importation, and not simply the importer of record,” the company named on customs forms.
Trump could pardon those crimes but not civil fines, which can equal the fuel’s value and include seizure of the ships that carried it, Scott R. Anderson, a senior editor at Lawfare and a former State Department lawyer, wrote on Oct. 15.
The administration can pursue those fines for up to five years after the fuel arrives, giving the next administration a chance to bring them, Anderson wrote.
As a result, he wrote, the license “seems unlikely to lead to an actual increase in U.S. imports” of Russian diesel.
“Those enabling the administration’s unlawful acts should generally be on notice about the risks they are taking,” former Rep. Tom Malinowski, a New Jersey Democrat, wrote on X Monday.
In March 2022, when Treasury issued a license letting Russian oil shipments already under contract enter the country, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it would hold the cargo and bar unloading until it verified the paperwork, according to a CBP bulletin.
This time, Raw Story found no similar CBP notice.
Treasury’s terrorism and financial intelligence office has said on X that the new license “is in compliance with all applicable laws.”
The 2022 law lets a president lift the ban only after consulting Congress, certifying that Russia has agreed to leave Ukraine on terms Kyiv accepts and waiting 90 days so lawmakers can block it, Time reported.
A bipartisan group of senators, including Tillis, said Oct. 11 that the administration “failed to consult with Congress or submit any explanation” for its decision.
Rival fuel sellers would likely have grounds to sue, but only once the imports actually happen, Anderson wrote.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced a bill to nullify the license, and three House committees have referred it, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
Investigating the deal will be a priority if Democrats win control of either chamber in next week’s midterm elections, Axios reported.
The lawmakers asked the banks and ports to confirm by Wednesday that they are preserving contracts, shipping documents and payment records tied to Russian diesel.
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