Sanctions would be pretty pointless if anyone could just go and offer goods and services to a sanctioned country regardless. It may have just been a talk, but

Sanctions would be pretty pointless if anyone could just go and offer goods and services to a sanctioned country regardless. It may have just been a talk, but a talk is a service, and he knew it was a serious federal crime. If he planned to rely on the "It was all public information anyway" argument, he is a fool.