A-list actor George Clooney contacted a senior White House official after U.S. President Joe Biden criticized the International Criminal Court (ICC) for issuing arrest warrants for leaders from Israel and Hamas.
Clooney has skin in the game because the his wife, Amal Clooney, is part of the U.K.-based legal team that applied for the warrants.
“The ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous,” Biden said in a fiery statement on May 20.
“And let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas,” he added.
🚨🇮🇱 Amal Clooney, wife of George Clooney, was one of the lawyers who advised the International Criminal Court on issuing an ARREST WARRANT for NETANYAHU. pic.twitter.com/90LSpbPlFB
— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) May 21, 2024
“We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
Amal Clooney, a prominent human rights lawyer, assisted ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Defense Minister, and three Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks Israel.
The Washington Post reported that the “Ocean’s Eleven” star reached out to Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president, after Biden issued his statement about the warrants in May.
pic.twitter.com/LMY0BqAvXm
George Clooney when asked about President Biden: “It’s like taking a batted child and thinking everything is going to be ok on his first day in school. There’s a lot of things that have to be repaired, there’s a lot of healing that has to be done, it’s…— Isabel Santos 🟧🟦🌊🌊🟦📙 (@Busyisaworkshop) March 1, 2024
Amal Clooney released a statement on the Clooney Foundation for Justice website saying that her goal with giving the ICC legal support was to uphold international law and safeguard lives.
“As a human rights lawyer, I will never accept that one child’s life has less value than another’s,” she wrote.
“I do not accept that any conflict should be beyond the reach of the law, nor that any perpetrator should be above the law.”
“So I support the historic step that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has taken to bring justice to victims of atrocities in Israel and Palestine,” the statement continued.
The Clooney Foundation for Justice aims to supply free legal support and advocacy for victims of genocide, unlawful imprisonment, and other human rights violations.
The Nespresso spokesman was reportedly worried that his wife might be affected by the sanctions threatened against the ICC.
His call to the White House was made just before a significant fundraiser for Biden’s reelection campaign next weekend in Los Angeles, which the outlet said he is still likely to attend.
The celebrity couple has long been strong supporters of the President, with Clooney donating over $500,000 to Biden’s 2020 election campaign.
He also co-hosted an online fundraiser that bolstered Biden’s campaign with a cool $7 million.
“Michael Clayton” star and Biden have been friendly for years, with the Clooneys visiting the White House in December 2022, where he received the Kennedy Center Honors.
Clooney was appointed to the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities a few months later.
Earlier this week, the House passed legislation to sanction the ICC for issuing the arrest warrants.
The 247-155 vote marked Congress’ first legislative action against the ICC’s decision, which has been condemned by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Several Senate Democrats were troubled by the ICC prosecutor’s recommendation to charge the Hamas leaders for their role in the October 7 attack on Israel and Netanyahu and his defense minister for their response.
The legislation only managed to garner limited Democratic support, despite widespread outrage over the court’s decision, diminishing its prospects in the Senate.
The White House is firmly against the bill, which it said was overreach, a move that clearly swayed Democrat lawmakers from lending their support to it.
Bipartisan leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee are aware that the bill is unlikely to pass in the Senate and are willing to negotiate terms with the White House.
They suggested it would be more effective for Congress to present a unified stance against the ICC.
The House bill proposes extensive economic sanctions and visa restrictions on individuals like Amal Clooney and ICC judges, including their family members, potentially impacting her movie star husband and their two children.
Some Democrats criticized the approach as “overly broad,” warning it could ensnare Americans and U.S. companies working with the court.
Republican leaders are urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to bring the bill to the Senate floor.
“Our members are very, very much wanting to go on offense on that,” Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters. “So yes, we’d love to get that taken up over here.”