George Clooney remains to be expected to attend a star-studded fundraiser for Joe Biden's re-election campaign on June 15, though a report has raised questions on the actor's phone call to the White House last month through which the actor complained concerning the president's criticism of his wife's work – the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants against Israeli politicians over the Gaza war.
The Washington Post, which reported on Clooney's call to the White Housesaid some Biden campaign staffers had been concerned that the actor might cancel the Los Angeles event, which can be expected to feature former President Barack Obama, late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel and actress Julia Roberts. For weeks, the campaign had also been running a contest where supporters could win an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles to satisfy Obama, Clooney and Roberts on the event.
But Clooney is anticipated to be there, and the Biden team denied that there have been fears the actor might intentionally avoid the event, in line with the Washington Post.
But Clooney and Biden's re-election campaign should must cope with criticism that the Oscar-winning actor, who donated $500,000 to Biden's campaign in 2020, was given access to a senior White House official to air his complaints.
In his phone call with Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president, Clooney also raised concerns concerning the Biden administration's initial willingness to impose sanctions on the ICC over its decision to hunt arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant, the Washington Post reported. Clooney was “upset” because his wife, a human rights lawyer, could face penalties, the Washington Post said.
Clooney reportedly called Ricchetti after Biden denounced ICC prosecutors for looking for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant. Clooney, a longtime supporter of Democratic candidates and causes, was particularly surprised that the president used the word “outrageous” to explain the ICC's move.
On May 20, Karim AA Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, announced that he would indict three senior Hamas leaders, in addition to Netanyahu and Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in reference to Hamas' October 7 terrorist attack on Israel and Israel's response.
Amal Clooney was amongst a bunch of UK-based international law experts who unanimously agreed with Khan to request arrest warrants for the leaders of each side.
“The attacks by Hamas in Israel on October 7 and the military response by Israeli forces in Gaza have tested the system of international law to its limits,” human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and other legal advisers wrote in an opinion piece published by the Financial Times. The panel of lawyers and former judges said they’d been asked by Khan to advise on the arrest warrant applications.
The panel of legal experts unanimously declared that the prosecutor's evidence provided “sufficient grounds” to consider that Netanyahu and Gallant “committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.” Since the beginning of Israeli military operations, greater than 36,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including about 15,000 children. in line with the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The legal experts also said there was reason to consider that Hamas's senior leaders – Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh – “committed war crimes and crimes against humanity” for killing over 1,200 people, taking a minimum of 245 hostages and “committing acts of sexual violence against Israeli hostages” on October 7.
“The ICC prosecutor's request for arrest warrants against Israeli politicians is outrageous,” Biden said in a press release. “And let me be clear: Whatever this prosecutor may imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand by Israel when its security is threatened.”
Biden's administration also initially signaled a willingness to work with Congress to punish the ICC, including the potential of imposing sanctions on the organization, the Washington Post reported. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill providing for sanctions.
But the White House has since spoken out against the sanctions, saying they’re “not the right answer” and represent an “overreach,” the Washington Post reported.
The White House said in a press release that it opposed the bill since it “could result in sanctions against court staff, judges, witnesses, and U.S. allies and partners who provide even limited, targeted assistance to the court in a number of aspects of its work.”
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