The Trump administration has launched an effort to dismantle what it calls the threat to US sovereignty by the International Criminal Court, a State Department official said on Monday. President Donald Trump and other US officials have long argued that the ICC should not have the authority to investigate and prosecute Americans, particularly members of the military.
Background
The ICC was established in 2002 by the international community to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. It asserts jurisdiction only if a member state is unable or unwilling to prosecute atrocities itself. The United States has never been a member of the court.
Trump’s hostility toward the court goes back to his first term. It manifested again with a plan to punish ICC officials, an idea hatched in November 2024 when Trump was re-elected and the ICC indicted his ally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.
Last month, three International Criminal Court judges sued Trump and his administration over sanctions imposed on them last year, arguing the measures were unlawful. The State Department official said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top US officials are pressuring other countries as part of a campaign “to diplomatically isolate the International Criminal Court and ensure it cannot target Americans.”
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
