U.S. Democratic Party likely to take aim at Trump's 'via-Russia deal' as soon as it takes control of Congress

The US Democratic Party is poised to take aim at President Donald Trump's 'Russia transit deal' as soon as it takes control of the Federal Congress in next month's midterm elections.

The online media Axios reported on the 26th (local time) that Democratic senators and congressmen recently sent letters to major Wall Street banks and major U.S. ports requesting that they preserve contracts, shipping documents, ship records, and communication details related to imports of Russian diesel or other transactions.

Banks on the recipient list include JP Morgan, Bank of America, Citi, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. Major ports and port authorities in Texas, New York, and New Jersey were also included as recipients.

This letter was sent in the names of Democratic Senators Chris Coons (Delaware), Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), Ron Wyden (Oregon), Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island), and Representative Greg Meeks (New York).

Axios reported that if the Democratic Party regains the majority in the Senate and House of Representatives in the midterm elections, these are the people who are likely to become the chairs of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee (Coons), Banking (Warren), Finance Committee (Wyden), Judiciary and Judiciary Committee (Whitehouse), and House Foreign Affairs Committee (Mix), respectively.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis (North Carolina) was also named in this letter, which was sent under the leadership of Representative Gene Shahine (New Hampshire), the Democratic ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“Any action to import Russian diesel into the United States raises significant legal questions and could be subject to congressional investigation as well as legal action,” the letter said. “Any potential agreement to import Russian diesel also raises significant national security concerns as it would fund Russia’s brutal and unlawful war in Ukraine.”

Considering the list of lawmakers who signed the letter, its content, and the recipient, it appears that the Democratic Party is attempting to mobilize all relevant standing committees in the Senate and House of Representatives to hold a congressional hearing and investigation into the Trump administration's transit deal with Russia.

The letter urged banks and port authorities to block the "purchase, transportation, import, unloading, storage, financing or distribution" of Russian diesel in the United States, citing "expected additional congressional oversight."

President Trump announced on the 9th that he had reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to supply a total of 4.8 million tons of Russian diesel on a large scale to the U.S. and global markets. Subsequently, the implementation of the 'Graham Law', which included imposing high tariffs on countries purchasing Russian energy, was put on hold.

Criticism was raised not only by the Democratic Party but also by the Republican Party, saying that this amounted to the United States supporting Russia's war. It also gave rise to controversy over the fact that it violates the 'Russian Oil Import Prohibition Act', which was enacted by bipartisan agreement in 2022 to ban the import of Russian crude oil, gas, and petroleum products.

According to Reuters, a Malta-flagged oil tanker recently loaded 40,000 tons of diesel at the Russian port of Primorsk, and this tanker is scheduled to arrive in New York on the 7th of next month. Tanker Trackers, a shipping information company, announced on the 23rd that three oil tankers carrying Russian diesel indicated the United States as their destination.