SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – Attorney General Sean D. Reyes joined 19 attorneys general in a letter to U.S. Senate leaders, urging their legislative body “to promptly pass the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act (ICC Act).” The letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was led by the State of Arkansas.
On June 5, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton introduced this bill (S. 4484), following successful and bipartisan U.S. House passage of the companion bill (H.R. 8282). The federal legislation originated after Karim A. A. Khan, the ICC prosecutor, made headlines earlier this spring over announcing that he would be seeking the arrests of a handful of Hamas leaders, and the Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity targeting Palestinians in Gaza since the military offensive began in the aftermath of the October 7 terrorist attack. Elected officials on both sides of the American political aisle rightly condemned the shocking action from the ICC to equivocate Israeli leaders with Hamas terrorists.
According to a press release issued by Senator Cotton’s office, the ICC Act would “sanction and revoke visas for those involved in prosecuting U.S., Israeli, or any other allied citizen wrongfully targeted by the ICC.” After the passage of his bill, U.S. House sponsor Chip Roy said, “America’s policy should be unquestionably clear: if the ICC goes after our allies, there will be consequences.”
The attorneys general write that “the ICC prosecutor has recently claimed to have the authority to prosecute Israeli civilian and military officials even though Israel – like the United States – is not a party to the treaty governing the ICC and has not military to be bound by such a treaty.” They add that “if allowed to proceed, the ICC’s prosecution would create a dangerous precedent that would subject Americans to potential prosecution without the protection 88s secured by the Constitution.”
Joining Utah and Arkansas on the letter were the States of Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.