Mamdani, Netanyahu and the ICC
Paul Gigot, along with Wall Street Journal columnists Kim Strassel, Kyle Peterson, and Elliot Kaufman, took center stage to scrutinize New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s controversial action concerning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Initially, Mamdani pledged to pursue Netanyahu’s arrest, but later retracted his statement. The panel delved into the legality of this situation, highlighting Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s determination to dismantle the International Criminal Court (ICC) due to its contentious jurisdiction and perceived threats to U.S. sovereignty.
The Trump administration took a bold step by imposing sanctions on two prominent International Criminal Court officials. This action signals an intensification of efforts to dissolve an institution that has been probing alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan and has issued arrest warrants for senior Israeli figures linked to the Gaza conflict.
In a strong denunciation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions on ICC President Tomoko Akane of Japan and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal. He labeled the court as “corrupt and fatally politicized,” reflecting a firm stance against its actions.
Rubio condemned the ICC for targeting officials whose governments have not agreed to its jurisdiction. “These individuals have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials,” he declared, accusing the court of “maliciously abusing its authority and exceeding its mandate.”
The ramifications of these sanctions are significant. Akane and Seye face frozen assets in U.S. jurisdictions, and their financial dealings with Americans or within the U.S. financial system are now severely restricted.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable on the American mining industry at the State Department on August 7, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Eric Lee/Getty Images)
“Our whole of government campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the ICC to national sovereignty will be sweeping and we expect more countries to join our campaign by ending their funding and participation in this politicized and unaccountable court,” Rubio said. “The ICC’s ability to target American nationals and those of other non-States Parties must end.”
An executive order signed by President Donald Trump in February 2025 created the sanctions’ framework.
The Trump administration argues that the ICC lacks the power to investigate soldiers, military commanders and political leaders from countries that are not parties to the court, including the U.S. and Israel.
International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane speaks to the press after meeting with members of the European Parliament’s Human Rights Committee in Brussels, Belgium on March 19, 2025. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The ICC said the Trump administration’s latest sanctions “undermine the rule of law,” adding that they amount to “a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution.”
“Such measures targeting judges, prosecutors and staff who work towards the fulfilment of the mandate that was conferred to the ICC by States undermine the rule of law,” the ICC said in a statement.
The court continued: “When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk. Threats and coercive measures also impact the ability of victims to seek justice, as they turn to the Court when all other avenues have been exhausted.”
The ICC maintains that it can exercise jurisdiction over nationals of non-member states when they are accused of qualifying crimes committed on the territory of a state that has accepted the Court’s jurisdiction.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a news conference in Jerusalem on June 15, 2026. (RONEN ZVULUN / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
Qualifying crimes under the Rome Statute include genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.
Afghanistan and Palestine are both members of the court, which the ICC says allows it to investigate alleged crimes committed on their territories, including alleged war crimes by U.S. personnel in Afghanistan and alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity by Israeli officials in Gaza.
In September 2024, the ICC also issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the minister of defense at the time.