Tillerson Recuses From Keystone Pipeline Review

Reuters reports:

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has recused himself from issues related to TransCanada Corp’s application for a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, the State Department said in a letter on Thursday to the environmental group Greenpeace.

“He has not worked on that matter at the Department of State, and will play no role in the deliberations or ultimate resolution of TransCanada’s application,” said the letter from Katherine McManus, the State Department’s deputy legal adviser.

McManus’ letter came after Greenpeace wrote to officials at the State Department and the Office of Government Ethics on Wednesday, urging Tillerson recuse himself from any decisions on the multibillion-dollar pipeline, given his former role as chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp..

Greenpeace argued in its letter that Exxon Mobil would “directly and predictably” benefit from the approval of Keystone XL because the firm has investments in Canadian oil sands.