Mamdani, Netanyahu and the ICC
Paul Gigot joined Wall Street Journal commentators Kim Strassel, Kyle Peterson and Elliot Kaufman to examine New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s early vow — and later walk-back — on whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could face arrest. Their discussion centered on the legal boundaries surrounding such a move, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s broader push to weaken the International Criminal Court, amid arguments that the ICC overreaches its authority and poses a challenge to U.S. sovereignty.
The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on two senior International Criminal Court figures, intensifying its effort to confront an institution that has scrutinized alleged American war crimes in Afghanistan and pursued arrest warrants for top Israeli leaders connected to the war in Gaza.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the penalties against ICC President Tomoko Akane of Japan and Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal, the court’s senior trial attorney, denouncing the tribunal as “corrupt and fatally politicized.”
Rubio said in a statement that both officials had played a direct role in ICC efforts to “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute” representatives of governments that have not accepted the court’s jurisdiction. He accused the ICC of abusing its power “maliciously” and operating beyond its intended mandate.
The sanctions targeting Akane and Seye block any assets they may have under U.S. jurisdiction and sharply restrict their ability to conduct transactions involving American citizens or the U.S. financial system.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable focused on the American mining industry at the State Department on August 7, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Eric Lee/Getty Images)
Rubio described the move as part of what he called a government-wide campaign to eliminate the ICC’s threat to national sovereignty. He said the administration expects additional nations to join by withdrawing funding and participation from what he characterized as a politicized and unaccountable court. “The ICC’s ability to target American nationals and those of other non-States Parties must end,” Rubio said.
The sanctions were issued under a framework established by an executive order President Donald Trump signed in February 2025.
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.
