US pressures ICC to shield Trump from any potential prosecution, Reuters reports

According to journalists citing a senior White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity, Washington has submitted a set of demands to the ICC.

If all three conditions are not met, the US threatens to expand sanctions against judges and staff of the International Criminal Court and potentially impose restrictions on the court as an institution in the future.

The demands are as follows:

• Stop the investigation into Israeli leadership regarding the war in Gaza;
• Officially end the preliminary investigation into the actions of US military personnel in Afghanistan;
• Guarantee that the current US president, Donald Trump, as well as the vice president, the secretary of defense, and other senior officials, will not be subject to prosecution after leaving office.

According to the source, Washington believes the risk of Trump being held accountable in 2029 is real, and the US will not allow such a scenario.

"There is growing concern ... that in 2029 the ICC will turn its attention to the president, to the vice president, to the secretary of war and others, and pursue prosecutions against them," the official said.

A Trump administration representative confirmed that Washington has informed several states parties to the Rome Statute of its positions and has also conveyed them directly to the ICC. At the same time, the official declined to explain how the US obtained information about a potential investigation into Trump or other officials.

This situation creates a new point of tension between the US and the International Criminal Court amid ongoing disputes over the ICC’s jurisdiction in investigating war crimes.

At the end of November, a US court closed the last criminal case against Donald Trump. It was related to election interference when he attempted to overturn his defeat in a state in 2020.

Moreover, Trump has decided to completely erase any criminal record under his name.

ICC arrest warrants

In November of last year, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

In 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The court determined that the Kremlin leader was involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.