


Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday announced sanctions against four more International Criminal Court officials over the body’s investigation into alleged U.S. and Israeli war crimes.
Rubio announced that Judges Kimberly Prost of Canada and Nicolas Guillou of France, Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji, and Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal were all being sanctioned over their role in investigating U.S. and Israeli nationals for alleged war crimes. All four were described as foreign nationals who engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute U.S. or Israeli nationals “without the consent of either nation.”
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“The United States has been clear and steadfast in our opposition to the ICC’s politicization, abuse of power, disregard for our national sovereignty, and illegitimate judicial overreach. The Court is a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare against the United States and our close ally Israel,” Rubio said in a statement.
“It remains the policy of the United States Government to take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our troops, our sovereignty, and our allies from the ICC’s illegitimate and baseless actions,” he added.
Rubio concluded by asking all other countries that still support the ICC to “resist the claims of this bankrupt institution,” the same refrain in the statement issued after the last round of sanctions in June.
The Trump administration sanctioned four ICC judges in June over their issuing of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“The ICC is politicized and falsely claims unfettered discretion to investigate, charge, and prosecute nationals of the United States and our allies,” Rubio said in a statement at the time. “This dangerous assertion and abuse of power infringes upon the sovereignty and national security of the United States and our allies, including Israel.”
The ICC said at the time that it “stands fully behind its personnel, and will continue its work undeterred.”
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Though the U.S. took part in negotiations that created the ICC, it has long had a fraught relationship with the body, devolving during the Trump administration into outright hostility.
In 2002, the American Service-Members’ Protection Act was signed into law after passing through both chambers with overwhelming majorities. The law, colloquially called “The Hague Invasion Act,” authorizes the president “to use all means necessary” to secure the release of any U.S. soldier imprisoned at the Hague, up to and including an outright invasion of the Netherlands.