Johnson urges Biden to intervene in ICC's reported plan for Netanyahu arrest warrant
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is calling on President Biden to utilize the U.S.'s influence on the world stage to block the International Criminal Court's (ICC) reported plan to issue arrest warrants for top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
If true, the warrants would be "baseless and illegitimate" and prove a blow to U.S. national security, Johnson said in an impassioned statement Monday.
"If unchallenged by the Biden administration, the ICC could create and assume unprecedented power to issue arrest warrants against American political leaders, American diplomats, and American military personnel, thereby endangering our country's sovereign authority," the speaker said.
HAMAS’ SEXUAL VIOLENCE ON OCT. 7 REVEALED IN NEW DOCUMENTARY
"Instead of wrongly targeting Israel, the ICC should pursue charges against Iran and its terror proxies, including Hamas, for engaging in horrific war crimes. The Biden administration must immediately and unequivocally demand that the ICC stand down and the U.S. should use every available tool to prevent such an abomination."
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for a response.
State Department deputy spokesman Vidant Patel would not confirm or deny whether the U.S. was aware of the ICC's reported plans during a press briefing on Monday, but he told reporters, "On this investigation, our position is clear. We continue to believe that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over the Palestinian situation."
WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN PAUSES GAZA OPERATIONS AFTER 7 AID WORKERS KILLED BY ‘UNFORGIVABLE’ ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE
Israeli officials are concerned that the ICC is preparing arrest warrants over Israel's response to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by the terrorist group Hamas, the