(FeaturedNews.com) – According to recently surfaced reports, actor George Clooney called one of President Joe Biden’s senior aides in May to complain about Biden’s criticism of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Clooney’s wife, Amal Clooney, a British lawyer, worked on the case.
The Washington Post was the first to report that the Academy Award-winning actor called the counselor to the President, Steve Ricchetti, to voice his disapproval of Biden’s dismissing arrest warrants the ICC sought against Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Clooney was reportedly rattled that the Biden administration was open to sanctioning the ICC, a move that could make his wife subject to penalties.
The report was published nine days before Clooney, a major Biden supporter, is scheduled to appear at a June 15 fundraising event in Los Angeles for Biden’s re-election campaign.
On May 20, Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, announced the ICC was seeking to charge Gallant, Netanyahu, and other top Hamas leaders, including Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, with crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Khan made his decision after consulting a panel of legal experts, which included Amal Clooney, a human rights lawyer.
After Khan made his decision, Biden condemned the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants as “outrageous.”
Biden added that regardless of what the ICC prosecutor implied, there wasn’t an “equivalence” between Hamas and Israel, adding the U.S. would always “stand with Israel” against anything threatening its security.
Then, earlier this week, 42 House Democrats joined with Republicans to vote in favor of sanctioning the ICC.
Subsequently, Republicans have pushed Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (New York) to bring the bill to the Senate floor.
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