During her Monday interview with International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan that first aired on CNN International and later on PBS’s Amanpour and Company, Christiane Amanpour opened up the floor to Khan to trash Republicans for their criticisms of him. Naturally, Khan portrayed himself as a man of deep principles fighting against GOP politicians who only care about appeasing their base, but the fact that the interview existed in the first place cast doubt on such assessments.
The interview was Khan’s way of announcing he is seeking arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Amanpour mostly spent the interview asking him to explain himself. However, in one instance, Amanpour recalled:
As we know, the United States is not a party to the ICC, nor is Israel. Recently, when word came out that this may be happening at some point, U.S. senators and U.S. congresspeople, mostly Republicans, wrote you a letter signed by Senator Tom Cotton, Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and others. This is the quote. ‘Target Israel and we will target you. If you move forward with the measures indicated in the report, we will move to end all American support for the ICC, sanction your employees and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States. You have been warned.’"
She then asked, “Is that a threat?”
Sen. Lindsey Graham recalled that Khan told him that he was going to go to Israel to discuss the allegations with the Israeli government, but instead he showed up on CNN. Graham says he “was lied to.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is very much not a Republican, didn’t use the L-word, but might as well have, “The Prosecutor’s staff was supposed to land in Israel today to coordinate the visit. Israel was informed that they did not board their flight around the same time that the Prosecutor went on cable television to announce the charges. These and other circumstances call into question the legitimacy and credibility of this investigation.”
Clearly, there is bipartisan consensus that Khan is “drunk with self-importance,” but nevertheless he replied, “I think that's the plain meaning of it in English. But you know, there's hotheads everywhere, and there's people that are mature statesmen and stateswomen and leaders. There are those that have fidelity to something greater than themselves, whether it's their constitutions, but ultimately, it's the rule of law.”
He further cited working with the Biden Administration on “a range of situations, whether it's in Ukraine or Darfur, and I've said to distinguish members on the Hill and to the administration that Rome Statute values are quintessential American values. It's against bullying. It's against the untrammeled power against the most vulnerable. It's the rights, the dignity of the individual is the protection of babies. I mean, these are fundamental American values that should engender bipartisan support.”
Who’s bullying who? The U.S. worked with Khan on Ukraine because it was invaded in an act of naked imperial aggression built around the premise that the Ukrainian state and separate identity were a mistake. Israel, on the other hand, didn’t just wake up one day and decide to invade Gaza. Khan knows this because he is also seeking warrants against Hamas leaders, he just doesn’t care.
Khan wrapped up his answer by again portraying himself as justice incarnate, “This court is the legacy of Nuremberg. This court is a sad indictment of humanity. This court should be the triumph of law over power and brute force. Grab what you can. Take what you want. Do what you will. And we're going to simply be—we're not going to be dissuaded by threats or any other activities because, in the end, we have to fulfill our responsibilities as prosecutors, as the men and women of the office, as judges, as the registry, to something bigger than ourselves, which is the fidelity to justice.”
Khan’s predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, also overstepped her authority by announcing investigations into U.S. troops in Afghanistan and afterwards landed a nice position as The Gambia’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom. What kind of future does Khan think he deserves for trying to appease the world’s Israel haters?
Here is a transcript for the May 20 show:
PBS Amanpour and Company
5/20/2024
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: I'm going to read you some heavy criticism that you've received from the United States. As we know, the United States is not a party to the ICC, nor is Israel. Recently, when word came out that this may be happening at some point, U.S. senators and U.S. congresspeople, mostly Republicans, wrote you a letter signed by Senator Tom Cotton, Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and others.
This is the quote. "Target Israel and we will target you. If you move forward with the measures indicated in the report, we will move to end all American support for the ICC, sanction your employees and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States. You have been warned."
Is that a threat?
KARIM KHAN: I think that's the plain meaning of it in English. But you know, there's hotheads everywhere, and there's people that are mature statesmen and stateswomen and leaders. There are those that have fidelity to something greater than themselves, whether it's their constitutions, but ultimately, it's the rule of law.
The good news is, I think, for the last two and a half years, we've had very positive engagement with the Biden administration in the United States. We're working across a range of situations, whether it's in Ukraine or Darfur, and I've said to distinguish members on the Hill and to the administration that Rome Statute values are quintessential American values. It's against bullying. It's against the untrammeled power against the most vulnerable. It's the rights, the dignity of the individual is the protection of babies. I mean, these are fundamental American values that should engender bipartisan support.
Now, of course, this situation, unfortunately lies on the San Andreas fault of international politics and strategic interests. And, of course, I've had some elected leaders speak to me and very -- you know, be very blunt. This court is built for Africa and for thugs like Putin, was what one senior leader told me. We don't view it like that.
This court is the legacy of Nuremberg. This court is a sad indictment of humanity. This court should be the triumph of law over power and brute force. Grab what you can. Take what you want. Do what you will. And we're going to simply be -- we're not going to be dissuaded by threats or any other activities because, in the end, we have to fulfill our responsibilities as prosecutors, as the men and women of the office, as judges, as the registry, to something bigger than ourselves, which is the fidelity to justice. And we're not going to be swayed by the different types of threats, some of which are public and some maybe are not.
