Mike Johnson will sanction ICC for arrest warrants
"We don't put any international body above American sovereignty"
By HANNAH SARISOHNUpdated: MAY 23, 2024 04:39US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks at a news conference at Columbia University in response to Demonstrators protesting in support of Palestinians, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in New York City, US, April 24, 2024.(photo credit: REUTERS/JEENAH MOON)
America should punish the ICC and put Karem Khan "back in his place," Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said during a Wednesday morning news conference.
Congress is reviewing all of its options including "aggressive legislation" to impose sanctions as quickly as possible, Johnson said.
"If the ICC moves forward with its absurd warrant request, this is going to be an even bigger international problem," Johnson said.
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in The Hague, earlier this year. (credit: PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW/REUTERS)
ICC is illegal
According to Johnson the US has never endorsed the ICC because it's a "direct affront to our own sovereignty."
"We don't put any international body above American sovereignty and Israel doesn't do that either," he added.
Johnson noted the ICC never targeted or arrested Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi despite engaging in "torture and terror."
"But instead, what we see right now is the ICC has chosen to target Israel with baseless and illegitimate arrest warrants, and it's attempting to equate Israel's just war for its existence with the horrific acts of the October 7 massacre," Johnson said. "To us, this is just unconscionable."
During Wednesday's White House news briefing, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the administration is in consultation on a "bipartisan, bicameral basis with the Hill on all of the options for how to respond to what the ICC has just done."
Sullivan said the White House has not made any determinations yet.
In his testimony on Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Secretary of State Antony Blinken indicated he'd be open to working with Congress on bipartisan sanctions against the ICC depending on the legislation brought forward.
