Mr. Tillerson took an assertive stance early, but senators, notably Mr. Rubio, challenged him to call the actions of Mr. Putin’s military in Aleppo, Syria, a war crime. Mr. Tillerson declined to do so.
Mr. Rubio set off on an aggressive line of questioning, initially posing a simple query: "Is Vladimir Putin a war criminal?"
"I would not use that term," Mr. Tillerson said.
Mr. Rubio, outlining a list of grievous Russian offenses in Syria, said he hoped Mr. Tillerson might adjust his answer.
"Those are very, very serious charges to make, and I want to have much more information," Mr. Tillerson said.
Mr. Rubio, saying there was plenty of public information -- "the videos and pictures are there," he noted -- said that "it should not be hard to say that Vladimir Putin’s military has conducted war crimes in Aleppo."
Mr. Tillerson did not budge.
"I find it discouraging, your inability to cite that," Mr. Rubio said.
As the senator continued to cite the deaths of Mr. Putin’s opponents, Mr. Tillerson said he hoped to learn more once he could receive classified information on the matters.
"None of this is classified, Mr. Tillerson," Mr. Rubio shot back. "People are dead."
"Little Marco" apparently does not understand DOS does not declare someone a "War Criminal." That is the job of The International Criminal Court.