International Criminal Court Prosecutor Threatens to Arrest U.S. Senators Who Criticize Him

Last week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant.

Most people had the same question: Who the heck is the ICC?

They are a feckless body that violates national sovereignty, that's who. It has no jurisdiction here, because the U.S. (like Israel) didn't join.

But they're still threatening to arrest some of our senators for criticizing the ICC for issuing the arrest warrants.

Bring it on.

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Threatens United States Senators ⁦@GatestoneInst⁩ https://t.co/A68OODq5hC
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) May 29, 2024

More from the Gatestone Institute:

After the prosecutor called for the arrest warrants for top Israeli officials, 12 United States Senators wrote to the ICC. The full text of the letter is below. The final paragraphs read:
"If you issue a warrant for the arrest of the Israeli leadership, we will interpret this not only as a threat to Israel's sovereignty but to the sovereignty of the United States.
"The United States will not tolerate politicized attacks by the ICC on our allies. Target Israel and we will target you. If you move forward with the measures indicated in the report, we will move to end all American support for the ICC, sanction your employees and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States. You have been warned."
The reaction of the Prosecutor's office came in a tweet, whose text is also below. The key language is this:
"When individuals threaten to retaliate against the Court or Court personnel.... such threats, even when not acted upon, may also constitute an offence against the administration of justice under Art. 70 of the Rome Statute...."
Wow.
The 12 United States Senators are already criminals, according to the ICC Prosecutor, for writing their letter— even if absolutely nothing else happens. Note that the Prosecutor writes of "individuals" who may threaten the ICC, whereas the Senators write as U.S. government officials about possible official U.S. government actions. In plain language, the Prosecutor is arguing that he and the ICC are above criticism. Forget freedom of speech or national sovereignty. To say that the United States, which is not a party to the Rome Statute, might react to punish the ICC for illegal and immoral actions it and its employees may take is not permitted.