‘No Jurisdiction Over the United States or Israel’: Trump Signs Executive Order Sanctioning International Criminal Court

Latest Developments

Trump Signs Executive Order Sanctioning the ICC: President Donald Trump signed an executive order on February 6 sanctioning the International Criminal Court (ICC) for targeting the United States and its allies. The order will levy visa restrictions and financial sanctions against ICC officials found to have assisted in ICC investigations of U.S. citizens or allies. Trump stated that the ICC had “abused its power by issuing baseless arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant,” adding: “The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, as neither country is party to the Rome Statute or a member of the ICC. Neither country has ever recognized the ICC’s jurisdiction, and both nations are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war.”
Order Comes After Failed Senate Vote: Senate Democrats blocked a bill on January 28 that would have sanctioned the ICC due to “unintended consequences” within the bill that “undermine its primary goal,” according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The 54-to-45 vote on the measure fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance the legislation.
ICC Issued Arrest Warrants for Israeli Officials: An ICC pre-trial chamber issued arrest warrants on November 21, 2024, for Netanyahu and Gallant. The Biden administration denounced the warrants, and current National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said at the time that the ICC should “expect a strong response” to their “antisemitic bias.”

FDD Expert Response

“In the absence of decisive U.S. action to halt the ICC’s politically motivated vendetta against Israel, including the ICC warrants issued contrary to the facts and law, U.S. officials would be the next ICC target. The United States, like Israel, is not an ICC member and has a robust system for self-policing conduct by its personnel. Yet the ICC has an open investigation of alleged U.S. war crimes relating to Afghanistan. The ICC’s warrants against Israeli leaders represent that very nightmare scenario — of a lawless, politically-motivated ICC being weaponized against the United States and its allies — which has long motivated bipartisan U.S. opposition to the court, including the refusal of every U.S. administration, of both parties, to join the court since its founding in 2002.” — Orde Kittrie, Senior Fellow

“The ICC is a deeply antisemitic and politicized institution that ignores facts and jurisdiction to conduct lawfare against democracies that defend themselves against terrorism. Today the target is Israel. Tomorrow, however, it will be the United States, which is still being investigated by the court. The recent indictments of Israeli leaders were not only baseless — using Hamas allies as sources — but also clearly fell outside the ICC’s jurisdiction. These sanctions constitute a floor of action to defend American and allied personnel from ICC lawfare.” — Richard Goldberg, Senior Advisor