CABINET/REX TILLERSON/STATE: "Some of the day’s most fascinating moments came as Mr. Tillerson tried to weave a fairly conventional, hard-power view of American influence into a tapestry that clearly rejected some of Mr. Trump’s views. Although the president-elect has said that he doubted the usefulness of the United States-led sanctions against Russia for its incursion into Ukraine, Mr. Tillerson took the opposite view. He said he looked forward to working with the Senate 'particularly on the construct of new sanctions' against Moscow in an effort 'to cause modifications in Russia’s positions.'
At the same time, in a tense series of exchanges, Mr. Tillerson said he could not say whether Exxon had lobbied against Russia sanctions after the annexation of Crimea, even though the company had submitted filings saying that it was lobbying on the topic. 'Let’s be clear,' the company said on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon. 'We engage with lawmakers to discuss sanction impacts, not whether or not sanctions should be imposed.' "
– “In Rocky Hearing, Rex Tillerson Tries to Separate From Trump,” The New York Times, Jan 11, 2017, David E. Sanger and Matt Flegenheimer, 1/11/2017