Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Trump Targets International Criminal Court With ‘Sweeping Sanctions’ After Vow to Defend Netanyahu
Mediaite ^ | 09/20/2026 | Sean James

Posted on 09/21/2026 3:37:16 AM PDT by DFG

The White House is gearing up to hit the International Criminal Court with “sweeping sanctions,” months after President Donald Trump said his administration is aiming to dismantle the organization in order to “defend” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from bogus charges.

Trump’s big move against the ICC: forbidding it from making transactions in U.S. dollars, The Wall Street Journal first reported on Sunday. The Trump admin would block most transactions with the ICC after a grace period of about six months — a move which could “potentially cripple” the court and isolate it from the global financial system, according to the report.

It is unclear when the final call on the sanctions will be made and when they would go into effect, the report added, but a decision could come as early as this week.

Sunday’s report comes two months after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he was going to “dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty.”

“The ICC poses an intolerable threat to U.S. sovereignty – it claims the authority to prosecute and even imprison American servicemen and officials operating on behalf of America’s national interest,” Rubio said in July. “Americans never signed up for this, and all American presidents since the ICC’s ratification have maintained that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over Americans. The ICC previously opened an investigation into U.S. servicemen and intelligence officers and has since refused to close these cases.”

And soon after returning to office in 2025, Trump imposed sanctions against the ICC for engaging “in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.”

The U.S. and Israel are two of the countries which have not ratified The Rome Statute, which establishes membership in the ICC. The court issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu in 2024, claiming he bears “criminal responsibility” for the Gaza War.

Trump has defended Netanyahu several times since then, saying the prime minister will not be arrested on his watch — even when American politicians like NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani have called for it. The president also said in July that Rubio’s push to defang the ICC was meant to help Netanyahu, not himself.

“[Rubio] is not trying to defend me. He’s trying to defend Bibi and various other people,” Trump said. “But there are many people that shouldn’t be looked at that way. But there is no indication that I’m one of them at this moment.”


TOPICS: Politics
KEYWORDS: icc; mamdani; netanyahu; rubio
Message from Jim Robinson:

Dear FRiends,

We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.

If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:

Click here: to donate by Credit Card

Or here: to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you very much and God bless you,

Jim


1 posted on 09/21/2026 3:37:16 AM PDT by DFG
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: DFG

Grace period of six months? Is that like “I’ll slap you on the wrist 6 months from now, for something you did today that I don’t like”?


2 posted on 09/21/2026 3:42:00 AM PDT by b4me (Pray, and let God change you. He knows better than you or anyone else, who He made you to be.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DFG

Or do a deal. Forget Netanyahu if we give them Fauci.


3 posted on 09/21/2026 5:42:52 AM PDT by nonliberal (Pinochet did nothing wrong.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DFG

It often seemed to me that any time the ICC went after someone it was suspect...The ICC, not the one they were after.


4 posted on 09/21/2026 6:18:39 AM PDT by oldtech (oltech)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nonliberal

[give them Fauci]

That particular one guy I would support
turning over for his bioweapon crimes


5 posted on 09/21/2026 7:54:51 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They Did Eat, They Drank, They Bought, They Sold ......)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: DFG

The Tuckerrhoid Freepers are suddenly going to become ICC fans


6 posted on 09/21/2026 8:03:44 AM PDT by pissant ((Deport them all))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DFG; lightman; Navy Patriot

The International Criminal Court was founded by a muslim operative as part of his anti-Serbian jihad.

It needs to be abolished, not just subjected to “sweeping sanctions”!


7 posted on 09/21/2026 9:50:21 AM PDT by Honorary Serb (Kosovo is Serbia! Free Srpska! Abolish ICTY!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DFG

Has there been genocide committed against residents of Gaza?


8 posted on 09/21/2026 9:58:55 AM PDT by Repent and Believe (Heaven or hell; We'll each spend eternity in one or the other.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DFG

“Trump’s big move against the ICC: forbidding it from making transactions in U.S. dollars....”

If the ICC can’t pay its contractors in dollars, it can pay them in some other currency — which the recipient can then convert to dollars.

This seems like some temporary inconvenience to the ICC, at the cost of further reducing the role of the dollar in international finance.


9 posted on 09/21/2026 10:49:42 AM PDT by Eagle Forgotten
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DFG

Here let set up my card table next to this road I didn’t build and don’t own.......NOW EVERYONE you must pay my toll......

International Criminal Court is does not and will not hold sovereignty over the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

While we are here lets kick the F-ING UN out of AMERICA and let someone else deal with those morons....


10 posted on 09/21/2026 3:54:30 PM PDT by BFW
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DFG

Here let set up my card table next to this road I didn’t build and don’t own.......NOW EVERYONE you must pay my toll......

International Criminal Court is does not and will not hold sovereignty over the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

While we are here lets kick the F-ING UN out of AMERICA and let someone else deal with those morons....


11 posted on 09/21/2026 3:55:20 PM PDT by BFW
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson