Ex-NSC official Richard Goldberg warns US leaders as he calls for defunding ICC after Benjamin Netanyahu arrest warrant

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Former National Security Council official Richard Goldberg joined co-host Steve Doocy to slam the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Tuesday, May 21 episode of 'Fox & Friends.'

Calling for the ICC to be defunded for its actions, Goldberg warned that the organization may choose to set its sights on the United States next if it can stay on its course.

The conversation took place in light of ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announcing on Monday that his office has "reasonable grounds" to believe that Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as leaders of Hamas have committed "war crimes and crimes against humanity" since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and the following assault on Gaza by Israel.

ICC's stance of applying warrants against Israeli leaders has been condemned by President Joe Biden as "outrageous," while Secretary of State Antony Blinken referred to the organization's "equivalence of Israel with Hamas" as "shameful."

Richard Goldberg on ICC's action against Israel

Goldberg labeled the ICC a "kangaroo court," telling Doocy, "This is not serious, this is not about the law, this is about lawfare, that is to use a system of law as a weapon of war. This is a kangaroo court that is supposedly a court of last resort, that is now targeting a democracy in Israel that has a functioning court system."

He noted that Israel "never signed the treaty" which makes it subject to ICC rules, continuing, "If you’re a democracy, you have a functioning court system, you have various ways of holding yourself accountable, just like we do in the United States. You’re not supposed to be subject to their (ICC's) jurisdiction."

"So, what have they done? They’ve gone and interviewed Hamas, they’ve gone and interviewed Hamas allies in Gaza and said, oh, we have the evidence now, we can indict the Israeli prime minister, the defense minister. It's hogwash," claimed the former member of the Trump administration.

Richard Goldberg's warning for the United States

The ICC should also be considered "serious business," because they may decide to go after United States officials in the coming days, claimed Goldberg.

"There is an active investigation by the ICC into American soldiers for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. So, if we want to stand by and watch… this kangaroo court start indictments against democracies that aren’t even members of the court, we’re going to be next," he said.

The co-host pointed out that the US was not a member of the ICC, similar to Israel. The organization reportedly has a budget of over $400 million for 2024, and its leading donors are Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France.

Financial sanctions against the ICC

"Remember, President Trump actually did issue an executive order to threaten sanctions against the officials at the ICC, as at the time, four years ago, looking at this type of action targeting either Israel or the United States, and they did back off," shared Goldberg.

"President Biden withdrew that executive order so now we’re left with no tools right now to pressure this organization, or its funders, so we need to reconstitute that sanctions regime, not just targeting Karim Khan the prosecutor, and other officials there, but also targeting the money flow."

"Our financial sanctions, if we impose them on the ICC itself, would say to any bank, you can’t process a transaction for this kangaroo court, you can’t fund and finance and allow money to flow to lawfare against the United States and Israel," he added, calling for the US government to urge allied nations to follow similar plans.