The Trump administration’s deal to let Russia supply 3 million tons of diesel to the American and global markets is illegal, dangerous and harms U.S. national interests. It undermines our allies, rewards aggression and further cements the position of the United States under Donald Trump as squarely on the side of the bad guys. For all of this, Americans won’t even get the short-term benefit of lower prices for fuel.

The deal clearly violates U.S. law. The 2022 Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act banned Russian fossil fuel imports and only allows the president to end that ban under specific conditions, which include Russia withdrawing its forces and ending hostilities. The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act, passed and signed by Trump just last month, goes even further, imposing heavy tariffs on top importers of Russian oil and gas and targeting the shadow fleet of tankers moving sanctioned Russian fuel. It was explicitly intended to starve Vladimir Putin of a critical source of funding for his war.

In a single phone call with Putin, Trump has illegally undone both efforts and made a mockery of American rule of law.

Trump defying U.S. laws is unfortunately nothing new. He has destroyed the East Wing of the White House without congressional authorization, imposed illegal tariffs, diverted military aid and withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid while dismantling the U.S. Agency for International........

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