The US State Department praised the removal of International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan over serious misconduct.
In a post on X, US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott wrote, "Karim Khan is a quintessential example of the ICC's corruption and abuse of its supposed authority. It is good that he is gone, but he is only one small cog in this irredeemably corrupt institution. Today's outcome will have no impact on the United States' plans to dismantle the ICC."
His statement follows US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's criticism of the ICC's arrest warrants and conduct. In a press briefing earlier this week, Rubio said, "We’re not members of the ICC. We never signed that treaty; we never joined it. And they somehow claim that they have a right nonetheless to go after non-treaty members and put heads of state and others in jail."
"We’ve long had quarrels with them, and we have lunatics and crazies involved in the ICC that are talking about charging members of the US military, maybe even the President or a future president, with crimes. And it’s not going to happen; it’s just not going to happen.
"We are not members of that court; we never signed on to that treaty. They need to understand that. If people want to sign and be a part of that stupid organization, they can. But we’re not going to be a part of it, and they’re not going to apply their jurisdiction to Americans. That’s just not going to happen. We’re not going to tolerate it now or in the future, and we’ve warned them about it repeatedly. And now they’re going to see the consequences of ignoring us."
Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said, "The long-delayed removal of Karim Khan from the ICC for serious misconduct has exposed the moral bankruptcy of a corrupt Prosecutor who rushed to file scandalous arrest warrants against Israel’s PM and former DM, in an attempt to deflect from the serious misconduct he feared would be revealed," Sa'ar said.
"These were politicized and outrageous arrest warrants against elected leaders of a democracy with an independent legal system defending its citizens against terror. These warrants, issued against a country that is not even a member of the ICC, should never have been sought in the first place and should be revoked immediately."
In the Friday vote, 82 of the court’s 125 member states voted in favor of the prosecutor’s removal, Reuters reported, citing two diplomatic sources.
Khan, a 56-year-old British barrister, faces allegations of misconduct involving a female staff member. He has consistently rejected the claims.
The controversy has unfolded over more than two years, destabilizing the international tribunal during a period of heightened external strain. Earlier this month, the United States, a long-standing critic of the tribunal, launched an initiative aimed at dismantling the 24-year-old judicial body.