Tipsheet

Trump Tells the International Criminal Court to Go Pound Sand

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  July 06, 2026 4:30 PM

Late last summer, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio blasted the ICC and announced sanctions against it.

In a post at the time, Rubio wrote that the ICC "continues to disregard national sovereignty and facilitate lawfare through efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, and prosecute American and Israeli nationals" and added "we will continue to hold accountable those responsible for the ICC’s morally bankrupt and legally baseless actions against Americans and Israelis."

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche penned a letter to the ICC rejecting its jurisdiction.

Here's more from the DOJ:

In a letter this week addressed to the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote that the Department of Justice rejects any assertion of jurisdiction by the ICC over Americans. 

The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute and has never consented to the ICC’s authority. As a matter of international law, a treaty cannot bind a non-consenting country. Accordingly, the ICC has no jurisdiction over Americans — anywhere in the world — and any attempt to assert such authority is illegitimate, unlawful, and a direct affront to the sovereignty of the United States.

“The ICC has acted in an increasingly lawless and illegitimate manner,” writes Blanche in his letter to Judge Tomoko Akane, President of the International Criminal Court. “Its record of selective enforcement and credible allegations of internal misconduct raise serious doubts about the ICC’s impartiality, credibility, and legitimacy.” 

In 2002, Congress passed the American Servicemembers’ Protection Act which expressly repudiates ICC jurisdiction over U.S. persons, including U.S. servicemembers, government officials, and civilians. The statute prohibits cooperation with the ICC and authorizes the President to use all means necessary and appropriate to secure the release of any U.S. person detained pursuant to any ICC warrant or request.

Blanche addressed the letter to Judge Tomoko Akane, ICC President and Karim Khan KC, the ICC Prosecutor.

"The United States Department of Justice unequivocally rejects any assertion of jurisdiction by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over U.S. persons," Blanche wrote. "The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute and has never consented to the ICC's authority. As a matter of international law, a treaty cannot bind a non-consenting country. Accordingly, the ICC has no jurisdiction over U.S. persons — anywhere in the world — and any attempt to assert such authority is illegitimate, unlawful, and a direct affront to the sovereignty of the United States."

"Notwithstanding these well-established principles, the ICC has acted in an increasingly lawless and illegitimate manner. It has repeatedly asserted jurisdiction over non-consenting countries, disregarded its own complementarity requirement, and pursued investigations that appear driven as much by political pressure and institutional self-interest as by legal merit. Its record of selective enforcement and credible allegations of internal misconduct raise serious doubts about the ICC's impartiality, credibility, and legitimacy. The United States does not recognize or submit to the authority of a body that claims powers it does not possess and exercises the authorities it purports to have in a selective manner, untethered to fairness or legal principle," the letter continued.

This is the only correct response. We do not want to cede our sovereignty to the ICC or any other international body that has a clear political agenda and an animus towards America and Israel. The ICC has no jurisdiction in America and they can never be allowed to gain it.