<h1>Senior U.S. Trade Official Accuses Foreign Buyer of 'Blood Money' Oil Purchases, Sparking Trade, Moderation, Legal Disputes</h1> A senior U.S. trade official publicly accused a South Asian country of buying discounted Russian oil as 'blood money,' alleging profiteering that funds a foreign war and harms U.S. jobs; the statements prompted platform fact-check notes and a dispute over moderation and foreign interference. The U.S. also recently imposed steep tariffs tied in part to that country's Russian crude purchases, which the country calls unjustified and driven by national energy interests. The exchange raises legal issues including potential diplomatic and trade disputes under tariff and sanctions regimes, platform liability and content-moderation governance, and risks of defamatory or inflammatory public statements.